On the Rebound
by allyncate
Summary: Troy and Chad leave New Mexico for college and they meet two female original characters. Better, more detailed summary inside. A collaboration written by ALLYxoCORBIN and naughtycate! Troy/OC; Chad/OC; some Chaylor at the beginning of the story
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **Best friends Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth leave the state of New Mexico to pursue their dreams of playing ball at the college level. Since they've left friends, family and high school girlfriends behind, they meet a whole new cast of characters on their journey, including two original female characters that catch the guys' eyes.

**Note from the Authors:** Hey Ally here... Cate and I want to thank you all for checking out our little story, it's our first HSM related collaboration and we hope to write more. Before we shut up and let you read the story, there's a couple things you should note.

1. This isn't a Troyella, Troypay, Chaylor or anything like that... in fact, this story's relationships are Troy/Original character and Chad/Original character.

2. This story is going to have some "juicy" stuff as Cate likes to refer to it... meaning there will be some sex and cusing

3. There are a lot of original characters in this story and while most of them have just minor roles, they are important to the story. We have a companion website for the story (link is in our profile) that has character pictures of the main four and all of the supporting, there's also a quick bio for each of the main four when you click their picture; on the site you'll also find a list of songs that remind us of our story and extras like the layout of Chad and Troy's dorm room and of the girls' apartment.

4. The story will probably only be updated about once a week as we have very busy lives and other stories we're writing.

**Disclaimers:** We don't own any of the High School Musical cast, but we do own all of the original characters and would appreciate if they were not used without our consent.

So without further ado...

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**Chapter 1**

It all started as a joke. They'd never actually planned on being University of Arizona Wildcats.

Best friends since they were in pull-ups, Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth always dreamed of going to college together and playing hoops against the best college athletes.

The summer before their senior year, Troy, Chad and their basketball coach Jack Bolton, who was also Troy's dad, visited several colleges that were interested in Troy as a basketball player and Chad as a baseball player. They'd spent two weeks driving as north as Oregon, as south as Arizona, as west as California and as east to Colorado.

When it came time to applying for schools, Troy and Chad sent in applications to the University of Arizona just for laughs. After all, as Chad pointed out, they could be "Wildcats for life."

But the laughs were on them when they heard back from schools. Oregon State offered Troy a basketball scholarship and the University of Oregon offered Chad a baseball scholarship, but both boys decided that even though the schools were within thirty minutes from each other, Oregon was too far from New Mexico for them. Several other schools that offered Troy scholarships weren't interested in Chad and those that were interested in Chad weren't interested in Troy. And the only school that did want them both was the University of Arizona.

That's how Troy and Chad found themselves driving the six and a half hours from their hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico to the U of A campus in Tucson, Arizona in Troy's truck pulling Chad's car in the middle of August.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Chad groaned as he fanned his face with his Sports Illustrated magazine. He and Troy had both lost their shirts earlier in the day because of the desert heat. "We should have driven my car, man! It's got a kick ass ac!"

"Yeah well your car couldn't pull my truck," Troy replied as he glanced at his friend as they drove across the New Mexico / Arizona border. "Anyway, we have like two hours left."

"Guess the Coaches were right about us leaving earlier in the morning," Chad muttered as he dug into the cooler at his feet and pulled out a fruit punch Gatorade for Troy and a fierce Gatorade for himself. "But I never said that."

"Never said what?" Troy laughed then took a gulp of his drink.

The Coaches, as Chad affectionately called Troy's dad and his own stepdad, had suggested to the teenagers that they should start their drive in the early morning and beat the heat and the traffic. But being teenagers, Troy and Chad both decided that they wanted to sleep-in and had waited to leave until the late morning.

Chad sighed as he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. As much as he was looking forward to the whole college experience with living on his own and not having anybody to answer to, he was kind of nervous about being so far away from his mom, Delilah. He wasn't a momma's boy or anything… it was just that his mom had been his greatest confident, best friend, cheerleader and everything else a mom is supposed to be.

Saying goodbye to her had been the hardest part for Chad and it was even harder on his mom. Delilah was so proud that her son was going to college and she told anybody who would listen how proud she was of Chad. "First generation of the Danforth family to go to college," she'd brag. "And with a full ride baseball scholarship!"

Sometimes Chad felt that she was making a bigger deal out of it then it really was. But deep down he knew it was a big deal. He was the first person in his family to go to college and the first to have not become a parent before the age of eighteen. His mother had gotten pregnant with him when she was sixteen and it was with the help of her godparents that she was able to finish high school.

For the first thirteen years of Chad's life, it was just him and his mom. He went to a neighbors' in home daycare center, where he met Troy, while his mom worked at a restaurant. Then when he was an eighth grader, Troy's parents introduced his mom to East High's new football coach Paul Walker and before Chad finished eighth grade, he had a stepdad and a new sibling on the way.

Life changed a lot for Chad when his mom married Paul. They moved out of their two bedroom apartment and into a house down the street from the Bolton's. Suddenly having a dad was a hard adjustment at first, but when his little sister Sabra arrived and Chad saw how happy Paul and Sabra made his mom, he tried harder to get along with Paul. He had even tried out for the football team his sophomore year of high school, but after one day of tryouts he and Paul had come home laughing and agreeing that football really wasn't the sport for Chad.

"Chad," Troy said, shaking his friend. "Chad, wake up."

"I am awake," Chad grumbled. "Leave me alone."

"Dude, you gotta drive," Troy told him. "My eyes are starting to hurt."

"Fine," Chad sighed. He opened his eyes and was surprised to find the truck parked in a rest area. "When did we get here?"

"About ten minutes ago," Troy rolled his eyes.

Chad shook his head and climbed out of the truck. He stretched his body and groaned as he popped his neck. He walked around the truck and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Just stay on I-10 W," Troy told him. "And wake me up when we get to Tucson." He leaned back in the passenger seat and closed his eyes, but sleep wouldn't come to him. Instead, he found himself thinking, about the adventure ahead of him, his parents and the girl he left behind.

He was well aware that Chad was more prepared for living on his own than Troy was. After all, Chad's mom had actually taught him how to do the laundry and even if Chad didn't want to admit it, his mom had actually taught him how to cook. Troy's mom, on the other hand, hadn't prepared him at all. Sure, she'd taught him how to make a bed, but who was going to wash his clothes and iron his nice shirts?

It wasn't that his parents hadn't taught him anything, they'd done their best to raise him. They made sure he knew he was loved, had food to eat, clean clothes to wear, everything parents are supposed to do for their children. And sure, they had their problems, but they were a very happy family of three-though Troy knew his mom had always wanted more kids.

Even though he was an only child, Troy's attributed the fact that his friends were always hanging out at his house, especially Chad, to the reason he never felt like an only child. His dad had been the basketball coach at East High for as long as Troy could remember and the guys on his dad's team were always at his house for dinner and to play with Troy and Chad.

Then there was Gabriella… She and Troy had met on New Years Eve of the junior year at a resort then she'd shown up at high school as a new student. They'd caused commotion in the school when they auditioned for the winter musicale Twinkle Towne and got the lead roles.

"We're in Tucson," Chad declared all too soon for Troy's liking. "Direct me to our humble abode."

"You've been hanging out with Taylor too much," Troy rolled his eyes. Taylor was Chad's girlfriend of a year and a half, who had been totally cool with the idea of Chad going to a college twelve hours from her own. It just wasn't fair to Troy, Gabriella had flipped out and been mad at him when he'd told her.

"Yo! Troy! Directions!" Chad said, waving his hand in front of his friend's face.

"Sorry," Troy said, grabbing the directions out of the glove box. He directed Chad to the U of A campus and they snagged a parking spot near the dorm they were assigned to. "You stay with the truck, I'll go check in then I'll come back and you can go."

"Troy, nobody is going to steal out stuff," Chad told him. "Let's just get this done with. I want to take a nap."

They each grabbed a handful of stuff then headed towards the check in tent. After checking in and getting their room number, they headed up the stairs to their second floor hall.

"I get the top bunk," Chad declared as they climbed the stairs.

"Hell, no, you wet the bed," Troy retorted.

"I stopped doing that when I was six, asshole," Chad grumbled. "Now shut your fat ass mouth, you're gonna start nasty rumors about me then I'm gonna have to kill you."

Troy smirked and used his key pass to open the door to their hall. "We're room number 215."

"You just walked past it dumb shit," Chad said as he used his own key pass to open the first door to the left. He hurried over to the bunk bed and threw his stuff on top of it before Troy could. "HA! I got the top bunk, bitch!"

"Asshole," Troy muttered as he threw his stuff on the lower bunk. "I swear to god, if anything wet or dry falls off your bed, I'm going to kill you."

"I'd like to see you try," Chad retorted.

Troy opened his mouth to reply, but a knock on their door stopped him. They both turned and saw a tall, well built guy standing there. "I'm guessing you two are Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth," he said.

"Yeah, that's us," Chad nodded. "I'm Chad, that's Troy."

"I'm your RA Owen Banks," the guy said. He shook Chad's hand then Troy's. "You sound like you've known each other for awhile."

"Since we were in pull-ups," Troy replied. "And I stuck by him when he was the only one in our kindergarten class still wearing them."

"Shut up," Chad said, shoving Troy hard.

"Where are you two from?" Owen asked them.

"Albuquerque, New Mexico," Troy replied. "We got here like twenty-five minutes ago."

"Well, do you guys need any help unpacking your cars?" Owen asked them.

"Sure," Chad replied.

After a couple trips, they returned to their hall and found other guys had arrived. The guys in 219 were best friends Cooper Lewis and Steven Hansen from Sierra Vista, Arizona where their dads both worked at the military fort. They also met Spencer Holland from Salt Lake City, Utah who informed them that he was majoring in Aerospace Engineering.

Chad and Troy were in their room unloading their boxes when Spencer's roommate arrived. They hadn't even seen him when they heard him bellow, "No way! I am not living with a _geek_!" They exchanged looks then went out to the hall to see what was going on.

Spencer's roommate was standing in the middle of the hall glaring at Owen.

"There's got to be a mistake, there's no way I can be living with a geek," he repeated. "I'm a fucking _Vanderbelt_ for Christ's sake! You should be happy that I'm here at your damn school!"

"Vanderbelt like the famous, old money family?" Troy whispered to Chad.

"No, they were the Vander_bilt's_," Chad replied, softly. "This guy is an airhead if he thinks he's related to him."

"What did you call me?" Chad and Troy jumped back when the angry Vanderbelt walked over to them.

"Vance, calm down," Owen said as he put a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Why don't you give living with Spencer a try for a week and if you don't like it we can try to find another place for you." Vance opened his mouth to speak, but Owen held up his hand. "Coach wants all the freshman guys living on campus, so just give it a try for a week."

"Fine, but that nerd better not touch any of my things," Vance declared before storming into his room.

"This is going to be a fun week," Troy muttered.

"Tell me about it," Chad nodded as the hall door opened and a guy and a girl walked in. "Hey."

"Hey, I'm Kevin Parker and this is my girlfriend Amy Stewart," the guy said. "She lives on the floor above us."

"I'm Chad, this is my best friend Troy," Chad replied. "What room are you in?"

"217, the one right next to you," Kevin replied. "Have you guys met our other hall mates?"

Before Troy or Chad could answer the hall door swung open again and two guys walked in.

"What are you looking at?" One of the guys sneered and Troy knew instantly that he wasn't going to like him at all.

"Chill man," Chad said. "I'm Chad, this is Troy, that's Kevin and his girlfriend Amy."

"Did I ask you who you were?" The guy replied before turning to Amy. "Hey baby, when you dump that loser come and find me." He gave her a wink then went into the room across the hall from Troy and Chad's.

"What an asshole," Chad, Troy and Kevin muttered under their breaths. They looked at each other and snickered.

"Who the hell were those guys?" Kevin asked.

"The name tags on their door say Chris Campbell and Eric Carstens," Amy stated. "But, I think I'm gonna go up stairs before they reappear. They give me the heebie jeebies." She shuddered then gave Kevin a kiss before she left.

Troy and Chad shook their heads and went back into their room. They worked hard for a few hours getting their room set up and were setting up Chad's stereo when Kevin came into their room.

"You guys wanna go down to the caf with me?" He asked. "My roommate isn't here, but I'm going to die if I don't get some food like now."

"Sure," Chad nodded.

The three guys walked to the caf that was near their dorm and got in line for the pizza bar. After paying for their food, they found an empty table and sat down.

"So what are you guys majoring in?" Kevin asked.

"No idea," Troy replied for himself and Chad. "You?"

"Business major," Kevin replied. "And Amy's an education major."

"Cool, you play sports?" Chad asked him. "I play baseball and Troy plays basketball."

"I played some tennis in high school," Kevin shrugged.

When they got back to their hall, Kevin's door was open and Owen was talking to Kevin's roommate.

"Guys this is Braeden," Owen told them. "Braeden this is your roommate-"

"Kevin Parker," Kevin said holding his hand out to Braeden. "This is Troy and Chad, they're in 215. Troy's on the basketball team and Chad's on the baseball team."

"Cool, I guess," Braeden said before disappearing into his room.

Kevin shrugged before following him into the room.

"So six out of eleven of us are cool, three are ass holes and one of us is a nerd," Chad said as he and Troy went into their room. "This is going to be a fun year."

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We agree with Chad... this is going to be a fun year.. er story... We really hope you guys enjoy it! Please leave us reviews!! 


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! This is Cate with the start of the drama. WEE:)

If you read, please review. We're dying to know what you guys think of this story!

**Note: The "U of A" being referred to in HSM2 was the University of Alburquerque (which is a fictional college created for the purposes of the story. Well, actually it WAS A college, but it was a Catholic school that closed in 1986. Only the University of New Mexico exists now). In this story, Troy and Chad are attending the University of Arizona, a real college. We're just shaking things up. Thanks! **

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**Chapter 2**

"Troy! Get up!" Chad exclaimed for the fifth time, standing beside Troy's bottom bunk bed where he was currently curled up with his blanket pulled securely over his head, "It's our first full day on campus and I'm not going to let your lazy ass sleep all day."

"Fuck _off_, Chad. I'm tired," Troy grumbled, not moving an inch.

"It's our only day to hang out before classes start. Come _on_!" After Chad stood there and stared at him for several more seconds, he finally went to his last resort, grabbing the basketball off his desk and repeatedly bouncing it off of Troy's blanket-covered head. Troy let that go on for a few moments before dramatically throwing off the comforter and getting up, punching Chad hard in the arm before disappearing out the door. Chad sighed and followed Troy, finding that he was headed for the bathroom where they both brushed their teeth before deciding that they would go hit the outdoor basketball courts they'd seen on their drive through campus for a game of 1-on-1 before lunch.

They played hard for almost an hour before grabbing sub sandwiches from the caf and heading back for their room. Troy bounced their basketball the whole way out of habit and they both found themselves laughing loudly at a story Chad was telling. As they turned onto their part of the floor, they saw Owen out in the hallway talking to two girls who looked to be his age.

"My god, Owen," the blonde girl of the pair said with a smile, "You let your residents walk around in the hallways with their _balls_ all over the place?" Troy immediately stopped dribbling the ball and tucked it under his arm.

"Piper, don't give them a hard time," Owen said, rolling his eyes, "Don't worry guys, she's harmless."

"Most of the time," the brunette snorted, prompting the blonde to shoot her a dirty look.

"So, do either of you room with my brother, Braeden?" she asked them.

"No, we're next door to him. His roommate's name is Kevin," Troy explained. She nodded and smiled at them.

"My name is Piper, and this is my roommate and best friend, Greer," she said, gesturing to the brunette.

"Nice to meet you," Chad said, finally speaking.

"Likewise," Piper said before turning to Owen, "We should get going. Bye Owen. Bye babies."

"Babies?" Troy asked incredulously as she and Greer started to walk down the hall.

"You're freshmen. That makes you _babies_," she stated. Chad scoffed and rolled his eyes, but Troy just stood there defiantly.

"I'm _not_ a baby," he said defensively.

"Yeah, we'll see about that," she smiled before turning and catching up with her friend. Unable to stop himself, Troy watched them until they disappeared around the corner, finally turning himself towards Chad and Owen's conversation once they were gone.

"How nice of you to join us," Chad laughed, causing Troy to immediately flush.

"I was just telling Chad that I've been friends with Piper and Greer since freshman year. Greer's really laid back and cool and Piper, well… you just got a pretty good impression of her," Owen laughed, "She's a good person but is not afraid to say whatever pops into her head."

"So, they're your age?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, they're seniors. And just get whatever's going through your head out now. Trust me, they're not an option."

"Option?" Troy asked, trying to sound surprised by Owen's assumption, "I was just asking about them in general." Chad sighed and smiled at Owen, knowing his best friend far too well before clapping a hand to his shoulder and pushing Troy in the direction of their room.

"Let's go eat our lunch," he said, "See you later, Owen."

"Bye guys," Owen laughed before heading back into his own room.

"Can you believe that Piper chick? Calling us babies," Troy ranted as soon as their door was closed.

"She was just messing with us," Chad said, carefully unwrapping his sandwich before taking a big bite. Troy just huffed before sitting down on his bed to eat his own lunch.

"Whatever. It's not like she was hot or anything, so no big loss I guess," he stated.

"What the hell are you talking about? They were both totally hot!" Chad said, "You're just pissed that Owen said to stay away from them."

"I just got out of a long-term relationship. The last thing I'm doing is looking for another one," Troy said.

"Who's talking about a relationship, man?" Chad laughed. He and Troy then settled into silence for a few seconds before Troy turned on the TV out of habit. They were usually fine with sitting in silence, but Troy wanted desperately to avoid another round with Chad about the two girls they'd just met. He couldn't help but get worked up. He'd never had a girl be so blatantly obnoxious to him before, her only intention being to annoy him. As hard as he wanted to, he couldn't get her shit-eating grin out of mind.

"So, what do we want to do for the rest of the day?" Chad asked after they'd both finished their lunches and had taken showers.

"Well, I have a meeting with the basketball team at three, so probably just hang out around here. Should we prop open the door to see if anyone else is around?" Troy asked. Chad shrugged in approval.

"Sure, I have a meeting with the baseball team at four, so I can hang out," he said, "What do you think they want with us so far ahead of the season?" Troy laughed and opened the door before putting down the stopper to keep it open.

"I'm sure they're expecting us to start training already. This is college, Chad. My dad warned me about how crazy it was going to be with working out. But hey, we do that anyway, right?" Troy asked, settling down on his bed with the latest issue of Sports Illustrated.

"I guess," Chad said, not even wanting to think about doing intensive work outs for over half a year before his season started.

"Hey guys," Kevin said as he appeared in their doorway, "What's up?"

"Nothing, come on in," Chad said. Kevin came in and pulled out Troy's desk chair to sit down.

"You guys have a busy course load tomorrow?" Kevin asked them.

"I do," Chad sighed, "Three classes, all right in a row. It's going to suck."

"Me, too. But at least mine are spread out a little," Troy shrugged, "What about you?"

"Tuesdays and Thursdays are my busier days. I only have two tomorrow and I'm done before noon, so that's pretty awesome," Kevin said, "So, do you guys have girlfriends or anything?"

"Nope. We both broke up with our girlfriends awhile ago. They're both at Stanford now," Chad explained. Troy looked at him wide-eyed and Chad immediately realized his error. He hadn't told Troy yet about the change in his relationship with Taylor and knew that he'd be subjected to a lot of questioning later.

"Wow," Kevin said, and he was about open his mouth to say something else when Braeden popped his head in the door.

"Hi guys," he said hesitantly.

"Hey Braeden," Troy said, "Come on in." He did so and went to stand beside Kevin.

"So, what are you guys up to?" he asked.

"Just talking," Kevin shrugged, "Where've you been all morning?"

"Breakfast with my family and then my mom insisted on taking me shopping. We have food now, though, and a fridge," Braeden said.

"Seriously?" Kevin asked, "That's awesome!"

"Yeah," Braeden said simply, "So I hear you two had the pleasure of meeting my sister."

"How'd you hear that?" Chad asked.

"She called me. Seriously, she can be a real bitch sometimes, but she's usually pretty cool. She said she gave you a hard time, but don't let it bother you."

"Oh, she didn't, don't worry," Troy said casually, prompting Chad to give him a look. Chad shook his head at Troy, ever the people pleaser. Chad knew that the wheels were turning in Troy's head and that he knew if he said anything to Braeden about Piper that it would get back to her. After they all talked for a few more minutes, Braeden excused himself to finish unpacking and Kevin stayed to talk until Troy had to leave for his meeting. Chad hung out around the room for awhile, moving some things around and putting them in places he now thought made more sense. He came back to his room after his baseball meeting to find Troy talking inside with Cooper and Steven.

"Hey Chad!" Troy greeted, "Steven's on the basketball team, too. We just had quite the meeting, what about you?"

"Oh, it was fine, except it got kind of weird at the end," Chad said, "Coach Scott started going on and on about how it was in no way acceptable to ever date his daughter."

"Coach Carver was doing the same thing with us. What makes him think that we'd even _want_ to date their daughters. What if they're fugly?" Troy laughed.

"Oh, they're not ugly," Cooper said, prompting all three of the others guys to look at him. He saw their confusion and then continued, "I met them this morning. They were talking to Owen. And, Braeden is Coach Scott's son."

"Which makes_Piper_ Coach Scott's daughter," Troy stated, "Too bad you're forbidden to date the she-beast." Chad smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Troy's just pissed because she dissed him earlier today, you'll have to forgive him," Chad told Cooper and Steven. They nodded in understanding, "And that means that Greer's off limits to you because she's Coach Carver's daughter."

"Like a senior would date any of us anyway," Troy scoffed before heading to the fridge to grab a Coke.

"There you go again with the 'date' word," Chad said, shaking his head, "It's_college_, live a little." Troy immediately knew what Chad was referring to as "living a little," and had to fight incredibly hard against the blush threatening to spread across his cheeks. The only girl he'd ever slept with had been Gabriella, and even though they had done it many times, the prospect of having sex with someone new was really nerve-wracking. A new person would like new things, undoubtedly want to do things he'd never done before, and the thought of all that made him incredibly nervous. But not nervous enough to not want it.

"Well, we're going to go get dinner, you guys want to come?" Steven asked. Chad and Troy agreed and the four of them took off.

That night, when they were laying in bed trying to calm their nerves before their first day of collegiate classes, they were both pretending to be asleep. Finally, Troy took a chance and decided to see if Chad was really sleeping.

"Are you awake?" he asked.

"Even if I hadn't been, I would be now," Chad rolled his eyes, "What's up?"

"Why didn't you tell me about you and Taylor?" Troy asked, unable to avoid the topic for another second. All afternoon he'd been stewing over it, wanting to demand why his best friend hadn't told him about breaking up with his long-term girlfriend.

"It's just kind of a weird situation," Chad sighed.

"But you two were pretending to still be dating! What the hell?" Troy asked.

"I'm sorry. We… we actually broke up last spring," Chad admitted sheepishly, "We decided that we weren't right for each other in the relationship sense, but…"

"But _what_?" Troy demanded.

"The sex is so good that we decided to keep _that_ going, but not keep actually dating. We knew that none of you guys would understand, so we just didn't tell anybody."

"Not even your best friend? I might not have understood, but I wouldn't have given you shit about it," Troy told him.

"Troy-" Chad started, clearly about to attempt to smooth things over, but Troy wasn't about to have that.

"No, dude. That's completely fucked up and you know it," he spat before turning onto his side and making the decision to end at least his half of the conversation.

"Troy," Chad tried, but was met only with silence as Troy continued to glare at the wall. With a loud sigh, Chad turned over as well thinking that this was exactly the last thing he needed at the moment.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey it's Ally! I wanna apologize quickly for how long it took us to get this chapter out... Cate and I have both been really busy... she's been working a lot and I've been getting ready for finals... but we're updating now and that's all that matters, right?

If you enjoy our story, please read and review, it's really appreciated!

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**Chapter 3**

Troy was still pissed when he woke up the next morning at 7:30. When he had left to take a shower, Chad was still snoring on the top bunk, but much to Troy's chagrin, Chad was standing in the middle of the room when he got back.

"Troy, come on," Chad sighed. "Let's just talk about this."

"Oh so now you want to talk," Troy said crossing his arms over his still wet chest. "Well guess what, I don't want to talk, because this whole thing is bull shit, Chad, and you know it!" He glared at his best friend. "I've told you _ever_ thing since we were kids."

"You never told me how big Gabriella's knockers were," Chad said, trying to make a joke.

Troy rolled his eyes and grabbed his clothes before storming out of the room.

Chad sighed and grabbed his car keys. He was gonna have to run some errands after his classes.

The argument with Chad distracted Troy in all his classes and he barely heard a word the professors said about the syllabi. When he finally got back to his dorm room he was somewhat relieved and somewhat disappointed that Chad wasn't in his room, though it was evident that he had been in the room since his backpack was hanging over the edge of his bunk.

Sighing, Troy tossed his bag onto his bed and that's when he noticed the six-pack of fruit punch Gatorade and a bag of Skittles and a king-sized Butterfinger bar. Lying next to the gifts was a piece of notebook paper that had "sorry" written in Chad's messy scrawl on it.

Hearing the door open, Troy looked up and saw Chad in the doorway.

"Oh, sorry, I was just coming to get my backpack," Chad said. "But I'll get it later." He turned and left the room.

"Chad, wait," Troy said, following him into the hall. Chad turned to look at him. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, I was just mad that you didn't tell me."

"And I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Chad replied.

"Friends?" Troy asked.

"Brothers," Chad said and they hugged.

"Well isn't this precious," both boys turned to find Piper standing behind them. "Maybe you two should get a room."

"Stop being a bitch, Pip," Braeden said, coming out of his room. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Mom asked me to pick you up, _Brae_," Piper replied, crossing her arms. "So are you ready to go or what?"

"The cookout isn't for another three hours," Braeden stated as Eric came out of his room.

"Yeah, well I have things to do and people to see," Piper retorted.

"You can skip it all and do me," Eric grinned at her.

"Oh go use a sock, if you can find one small enough," Piper snapped at Eric. "Are you coming or not, Braeden?"

"I'll get a ride," he replied as he glared at Eric.

"Whatever," Piper shrugged. "Bye babies." She winked at Troy then left.

"That was one hot chick," Eric commented as he watched her walk away. "I can't wait to get my hands on her-"

Braeden grabbed him by the throat and pushed him into the wall. "Don't you fucking talk about my sister that way, asshole," he shouted in Eric's face. "And keep your dirty little hands away from her!"

"I can't breathe," Eric cried in between gasps.

"Come on man," Chad said, pulling Braeden away from Eric.

"Stay away from my sister, Eric," Braeden said as he pointed a finger at him. "Or I will seriously have to kick your ass."

"I'd like to see you try, emo freak," Eric called as he rubbed his neck.

Before Braeden could reply, Chad pulled him into his room and Troy closed the door.

"Let go of me man," Braeden said. "I want to beat the shit out of that -"

"You need to calm down, dude," Chad said, pushing Braeden into a chair. "Don't let Eric make you mad, that's what he wants."

"I hate assholes like him," Braeden said, crossing his arms.

"Who doesn't," Troy shrugged. "So where is it that you were supposed to be going tonight with Piper?" Chad rolled his eyes. "It what just a question, Chad, besides he said he needed a ride."

"Just to my parents' house," Braeden replied. "They always have a big cookout at the beginning of the school year, every year. It's not really the coolest thing, but you guys can come if you'd like."

"Really?" Chad asked. "Are there going to be hamburgers?" Troy rolled his eyes. "You tasted the hamburgers here, Troy, those things were nasty! I need some real food and soon!" He didn't want to add that he'd spent two meals worth of money on the "forgive me" presents for Troy.

"Yeah, there'll be a lot of food," Braeden nodded as Kevin came into the room. "Hey, you want to go to a cookout at my parents' house tonight?"

"Mind if I bring Amy?" Kevin asked.

"That's fine," Braeden replied.

Three hours later, Chad found himself following Braeden's directions to his parents' house that was a few miles away from the campus with Kevin following him in his car.

"Suddenly, I feel like I'm back home," Troy muttered as they drove past neighborhoods filled with adobe houses. Chad nodded.

"Turn here," Braeden said, pointing to the next street. "Then pull into the drive way of the fifth house."

Chad followed his directions and pulled into the driveway of a two story adobe house with a nearly identical house next door, save for paint color. Braeden's parents' house was painted a dark brown and the house next door was a light brown.

"Come on," Braeden said as he got out of the car. He motioned for Kevin to pull into the driveway as well then as soon as they were all out of the car, he led them up the front walkway and into the house. "MOM, I'M HERE."

"She's out back, Brae-" Piper stopped when she saw the others trailing after her brother. "If it isn't the gay babies."

"Just ignore her," Braeden said to his friends before he led them out the sliding glass door.

"Holy -" Chad started and Troy finished with, "-shit" as they took in the large backyard that Braeden's family shared with their next door neighbor. Each house had its own back porch, but in the middle of the backyard was a bean shaped pool and a built in barbeque area.

A commotion on the neighbor's back porch made Braeden grab Troy and Chad's shoulders and push the two together so he could hide behind them.

"What the hell?" Chad asked.

"Don't move! Hide me!" Braeden hissed. "Don't let her see me!"

"Let who see-" Troy stopped when he saw a peppy blonde came skipping over to the grill area. "Who's that?"

"That's Greer's sister Hetta and she _loves_ Braeden," Piper said as she stepped aside Troy. She glanced at her brother then cupped her hands over her mouth and called, "Hey Hetta! Braeden's up here!"

"I hate you, you stupid bitch," Braeden hissed as Hetta looked over, saw him and came skipping over.

"Have fun," Piper said, winking at her brother. "Later babies."

"She's cute, what's so bad about her?" Chad whispered to Braeden before Hetta got to them.

"Braeden!" Hetta exclaimed pushing her blonde hair out of her face. "How is school? Like, oh my god, I totally miss driving to school with you in the morning! Oh, who are your friends?"

Braeden looked at Chad, whose mouth had dropped in shock, and said, "These are my friends Chad and Taylor. Chad's on my dad's baseball team and Troy's on your dad's basketball team."

"Oh my god! That is so cool!" Hetta said, clapping her hands. "I totally can't wait until next year, cause the cheerleading coach totally wants me to be on the squad and I'm like -" She was cut off by her mom calling her from her house. "Whelps, I better go help my mom. Bye guys!"

"She's related to Greer?" Chad asked after recovering from his shock.

"Well they're really step-sisters, but their parents have been married since Hetta was two-years-old and Greer was six," Braeden replied. "The dark haired girl with Greer and Piper is their sister Iden, she's two years younger then Hetta."

"So were you and Hetta an item or something?" Troy asked him.

"No," Braeden said, quickly. "For the last two years, my parents have made me drive Hetta and Iden to school to save money on gas. So when my car broke down this summer, I didn't even bother to get it fixed."

"Burgers are ready," Coach Scott called. "Come and get 'em."

Troy, Chad and Braeden got in line behind Amy and Kevin and filled their plates up with food. Then they sat down at a picnic table and were joined a few minutes later by Hetta, Iden, Greer and Piper.

"I wonder when Owen is going to get here," Greer said, glancing at her watch. It was then that Chad noticed that she hadn't gotten any food. "I told him this thing started at seven."

Piper just rolled her eyes. "You know he's _never_ on time for anything, Greer," she stated. "You should go get some dinner before the babies eat it all then start whining about their messy diapers."

"Shut up, Piper," Braeden rolled his eyes. "But seriously, Greer, just get some food. Owen was still in his room playing video games when we left."

"Maybe he forgo-" Greer stopped when she saw Owen walk through the back gate. She started to smile, but it faded quickly when she saw that he wasn't alone.

"Hey guys," Owen greeted as he walked up to the table. "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Callie."

"Hey," Callie smiled at them all before her eyes settled on Piper and Greer. "You guys have to been Piper and Greer, Owen talks about you guys all the time. You three have had some crazy experiences."

"Yeah, that's us, we're crazy bitches," Piper said, shaking her head. "And it's about time you showed up, Owen, Greer was starting to bitch."

"I was not," Greer said, pushing her friend. "I'm going to go get some food." She stood up and walked over to where the food was set out. She was so distracted by getting her food that she didn't hear anybody walk up behind her.

"So how long have you liked Owen?" She jumped and spun around to see Chad standing behind her.

"Don't do that," she hissed.

"Sorry," he shrugged then waited for her to answer.

"And I don't like him," she replied. "We're just friends."

"Yeah, that's why you were shooting daggers at Callie," Chad smiled, knowingly. "It's okay, I won't tell anybody."

"Since freshman- wait why am I even telling you this," she looked up at him. "I don't even know you."

"The name is Chad Danforth, son of Delilah Danforth-Walker, stepson of Paul Walker and older brother to the most adorable 4-year-old, the world has ever seen, Sabra Walker," he said, holding out his hand. "I'm here on a baseball scholarship; I don't know what I want to be when I grow up and I've been best friends with Troy since we were about two."

"Thanks for the bio," Greer rolled her eyes. "But I still don't know you well enough to pour my heart out to you."

"Fair enough," Chad smiled as he dropped a spoonful of potato salad on his plate. "But just for future reference, I'm a really good listener and I know something or two about one-sided relationships."

After finishing their food, Hetta suggested that they should all go swimming. She and Iden then took Amy back to their house so she could borrow a swim suit while Braeden took Troy and Kevin into his house to find them swim trunks. Piper followed Owen and Callie out to the front to get bathing suits out of their cars.

"You're not going to go swimming?" Greer asked as she sat down next to Chad.

"Nah, I just washed my hair and it's a bitch to dry," he replied and Greer laughed. "What?"

"You sound like a girl," she shrugged.

"Yeah, well, shut up," he replied.

They sat in silence for a few minutes and watched the others jump into the pool.

"I meant it, Greer," Chad said, looking at her. "If you need to talk, I'm here. Sometimes it's nice to have a fresh, unbiased perspective."

"What makes you think I'd want to take advice from somebody who probably has only sex with three girls?" Greer asked him.

"Greer, the bitchiness doesn't work for you," Chad smiled. "And I've only slept with one girl." He felt his face heat up.

"Is that supposed to make me want to talk to you more?" Greer asked him. "What, did you guys break up with the plan to get back together after college?"

"She broke up with me last spring then wanted to be fuck buddies," Chad stated. "She said we weren't well suited for each other."

"But you didn't agree?" Greer asked.

"I still love her," Chad shrugged. "But I figured that it was better than nothing, ya know?"

"All to well," Greer nodded as her eyes landed on Owen. "We dated for about a minute during our first year of college then he said he thought we'd be better off as friends." Her eyes moved to Callie. "Now he's with her and the worst part is that I can't even hate her because she's seems so cool, nice and good for him."

"See, now that wasn't too hard, was it?" Chad said as he smiled at her.

She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by the sound of Piper chewing Troy out again. "Here we go again," she rolled her eyes. "I wish she would just kiss him or something already." Chad's eyebrows rose. "I didn't say that."

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So while Troy and Piper are busy biting each others' heads off... Chad and Greer are talking... who knows what this stuff will lead up to... :-D Review!! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Cate here with the latest update. We don't really have much to say other than that things start to heat up in this chapter a bit. We hope you're continuing to enjoy it and thanks to those of you who've left us reviews. If you haven't, please do! We'd love to know what you think!**

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**Chapter 4**

"And then she starts ripping on me about the fact that I ate a second hamburger, which really isn't _that_ big of a deal. I mean, I'd been paying attention and everyone had already had either one or two burgers, so it wasn't like I was being greedy. So after I told her off about _that_, she keeps just keeps popping up every time I was in the middle of a new conversation, making smartass comments and just generally being a bitch. She was trying to get me to drink a beer. In front of my new coach! Can you fucking believe her?" Troy ranted the entire way up the stairs as they carried armloads of leftover food that Piper's mom had sent with them. Chad rolled his eyes, something that was completely lost on Troy as he continued to complain about the way Piper had been treating him at the party. It had been the only topic of conversation ever since they got into Chad's car. Braeden had opted to ride with Kevin and Amy, which Troy was happy for since he was able to complain about Piper without censoring himself around her brother. Chad took care of all the important tasks, like getting them into their building and hallway while Troy just trudged along bitching until he was red in the face.

He couldn't remember the last time he had been so irritated with another person and knew that he needed to do something to get rid of all the frustration. So, after deciding that it'd been long enough since he'd eaten, he changed quickly, put on his running shoes and went out for a run. Running had always been a source of relaxation for him. He could just zone out and focus on his performance and not worry about any of the things that were bothering him in his life, like obnoxious girls three years older than him who wouldn't leave him alone. As hard as he tried, he couldn't get Piper's snide remarks paired with a sugary sweet grin out of his head. Finding a second wind with his renewed burst of frustration, he kicked up his speed and headed further away from the dorms.

Almost an hour later, Troy came into the room dripping with sweat and headed straight for the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.

"You were gone for a long time," Chad commented absently, not really taking his eyes off of the TV. Troy just shrugged and toed off his shoes before sitting down on the edge of his desk chair.

"What are you doing tonight?" Troy asked him. Chad shrugged and changed the channel.

"Kevin got invited to this frat party tonight and they told him to bring people. You wanna go?" Chad asked. Troy looked at his friend for a minute, thinking hard about whether or not he really wanted to go. He'd never drank before. The mere thought of getting caught had been enough to keep him from doing it all through high school, even though most people likely assumed that he had just because he was a jock and the jocks at East High were notorious partiers. The fact that his dad had been his coach hadn't helped matters. He knew full well that if he had gotten caught drinking he would have not only had to sit out for several games, but would also have spent months confined to his bedroom. So, he had just never given in to temptation. Now, it was staring him in the face again. He'd so longed for so long to know what the big deal was about drinking, but had just never allowed himself to find out.

"Chad, you know how I feel about that stuff," he said.

"You don't have to drink, I just thought we might get to meet some different people," Chad said. Troy gave in and nodded, not really sure if he'd be strong enough to resist the temptation of free beer.

"Sure, sounds good," Troy said. Honestly, the idea of going to a party sounded great. He was feeling pretty stressed out about his course load already and wanted to just go somewhere crazy where he could forget about everything and just meet some new people.

After lounging around for a few more hours, they got ready to go to the party. Kevin and Amy came to their room to get them, and once they were all ready, they took off for the Fiji house.

"Ugh, I need a beer," Amy sighed as she linked her arm through Kevin's.

"Yeah?" he smiled at her, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek.

"This semester is going to be insane," she stated, "And as much as I hate to admit it, getting a little buzzed sounds just great right now."

"I'm pretty sure they'll be able to help you out at the party," Kevin laughed.

"So, how'd you manage to get invited to this party?" Troy asked Kevin.

"I think they're trying to recruit me," Kevin shrugged, "Not too sure how I feel about that yet. I thought I'd give it a try and come to the party. You know, to see what the frat's like as a whole."

"I'm just looking forward to meeting some new people," Chad grinned, obviously genuinely excited for the party.

"Me too, and plus, some people we know are going to be there, which will be good," Kevin said.

"Like who?" Troy asked.

"Well, I know that Braeden was headed here. Apparently his sister is friends with a ton of the Fiji's and she wants to introduce him to them," Kevin started, and he continued on with his story, but Troy stopped listening. As soon as he heard that Piper was going to be in attendance, he knew that the chances of him having a good time were severely diminished. He tried not to let his disappointment show, but Chad obviously picked up on it and gave him a discreet nudge.

"We're here, man," Chad told him, nodding in the direction of the house. Troy gave him a weak smile and followed everyone inside. The house was already packed with bodies and Troy felt suddenly claustrophobic. Kevin apparently saw the guy who had invited him to the party and Troy found himself being introduced to the guy, who happened to be some member of the executive board of the frat. Once the pleasantries were taken care of, they all headed for the basement, where they'd been informed the kegs were located.

"This is a great party," Amy shouted over the music pounding from the speakers. They all nodded in agreement and Troy found a cup of beer shoved into his hand. He figured that he would look less out of place if he at least carried around a cup, so he nursed it while he talked to them. But, no matter how hard he tried to look invested in the conversation, his eyes sought Piper's face in the crowd. He wanted to see her before she had the chance to sneak up on him. He wanted to have time to prepare for her next attack. After several minutes, he saw Braeden across the basement and the faces of his sister and her best friend following close behind him. When Braeden caught sight of them, he smiled in their direction and headed over. Troy swore under his breath and wished he could disappear into the crowd as the three of them made their way over.

"Hey guys," Braeden said, "What're you all up to?"

"Just hanging out," Troy shrugged, "You?"

"Just getting my little brother drunk," Piper said, pushing her way in between Braeden and Troy. "Why aren't _you_ drinking?" Troy just made a face at her and held his glass in front of her face.

"Yeah, I can _see_ that, Troy. But it's full," Piper stated, peering into his cup, "So drink up, Pampers."

"Will you stop calling me shit like that?" Troy asked. She stuck out her bottom lip and pinched his cheek hard.

"Absolutely not," she said before smacking his cheek lightly. Troy went to verbally retaliate from that very degrading motion, but Chad pulled him away before he had the chance.

"Just ignore her, Troy. She's drunk," Chad said as he pushed Troy in the direction of the stairs.

"She's a bitch, that's what she is," Troy spat, stomping his way up the stairs. He threw his cup in a random garbage can and went out the front door. Chad had to run to keep up with him, but Troy wouldn't talk to him. Once they were back in their dorm, Troy brushed his teeth quickly and then climbed into bed. Going to the party had not been what he wanted it to be at all, and all he knew was that Piper was every bit as horrible as he had remembered.

Monday after his classes, Troy found himself walking across campus. It was a perfect day outside and he couldn't wait to get back to his dorm so he could change and go for a run. He needed to kick up his speed and distance if he wanted to be meeting the work out requirements Coach Carver had set up for them, but he knew that it would take time to get there. His cell phone started ringing loudly in his pocket and he pulled it out to see that it was his mom calling. A smile spread across his lips as he flipped open his phone and answered the call.

"Hey mom!" he said. Though he never would have admitted it to anyone, he was missing his family like crazy. They weren't always the most functional family, but he missed it all, the laughing, the fighting, and even the constant nagging to clean up his room or do the dishes.

"Hi Troy, how're you doing?" she asked.

"I'm great. I miss you guys, actually," he admitted.

"Well don't sound so surprised," she laughed, "We miss you, too. It's too quiet around here."

"Yeah, well that's probably more because all my stupid friends aren't hanging around all the time than because I'm not there."

"Could be. But how are your classes? And are things any better with those rude guys on your floor?" Troy shrugged even though he knew she couldn't see it.

"My classes are okay. I have a lot of reading to do, but I think it'll be all right. As for the guys on my floor, everything's pretty much the same. Kevin got invited to a frat party on Saturday night and Chad and I went along. But I didn't drink, I swear!" he said quickly.

"I believe you. And I trust you to make good choices," she said. He almost sighed out loud at her prime choice of guilt-inducing comment. That was what his parents had always told him to do: to always make good choices. It was their own way of saying that he should do what they wanted him to do, but he was supposed to believe that it was his own decision.

"Yeah, I know, Mom. Good choices," he said blandly. It was then that he felt an arm jab into his side. He turned to look at his assailant and saw Piper's shit-eating grin shining up at him. Now he really did sigh into the phone, something that his mom took as a reaction to his comment about choices.

"Troy, I know you don't like it when we say that, but it's really what we want. No matter what choices you make, we just want to make sure that you're happy with your decision and that you've thought it fully through, that's all," she said.

"I know that, Mom," he said, and immediately regretted the fact that he had revealed who he was talking to. Piper immediately pretended to be impressed and started trying to pinch his cheeks whispering something about what a "cute little momma's boy" he was. "Mom, I have to let you go, I'm sorry. I'll call you guys in a few days." Once she'd said good-bye, he snapped his phone shut and thrust his phone back into his pocket.

"I think it's sweet that you call your mommy. What a nice boy," Piper teased.

"One, she called _me_," Troy stated, "And two, do you have to be such a freaking pain in the ass all the time?" He picked up his pace, leaving her a few steps behind him. She let him sulk ahead of her for a bit before catching up with him.

"Are you seriously mad at me?" she asked with a smile.

"You've been nothing but a bitch to me since the first time I met you, what do you think?" he spat.

"Wow, pulling out the B word. Careful with that," she said, "And for the record, I've been _teasing_ you, not purposely being a bitch. Honest!" She held up her hands in mock defense.

"Well you have been one whether you meant to be or not," he said.

"I can't really take back what I've already said, but can we at least try to be civil from now on? Friends?" she asked, stopping and extending her hand to him. He surveyed her carefully for a few seconds before reaching out and grabbing her warm hand in his, pumping it once before starting walking again. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

"I think you're lame," Troy said, smiling lightly down at her.

"That may be," she started, speeding up so she was walking backwards ahead of him, "But you also think I'm hot."

"Oh, you think so?" he asked incredulously.

"If you didn't, you do now," she smiled before stepping out of the way and allowing him to pass. As much as he wanted to reply, he forced himself to keep going without looking back at her. He knew that she was standing there waiting for him to deny finding her attractive, but he couldn't. As much as she annoyed him, and as much as it pained him to admit it, she _was_ hot. Bitchy and possibly insane, but hot.


	5. Chapter 5

Ally here!! I meant to post this early, but I got sidetracked by American Idol... whoops :-D Anyway, hope you like the chapter!

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**Chapter 5**

Chad grumbled under his breath as he huffed his way back to his and Troy's room. "Stupid pre-season workouts," he muttered as he collapsed on the grass near the building. Coach Carter had called a mandatory practice and when three guys showed up late, he made the whole team run four miles around the track and run stairs for forty minutes straight.

Now all Chad wanted to do was take a bath-but since he didn't have access to one, he'd settle for a shower-and go to bed. But of course, it was as if each of his teachers assumed that their students had nothing better to do than read for their class; times that by 5 classes and Chad had nearly 150 pages to read. Not to mention his history and biology professors had already announced tests and his English teacher had assigned a five page paper.

"You alive?" Chad opened his eyes and saw one of the guys from his floor.

"Hey- uh-" Chad felt horrible that he couldn't remember the guy's name.

"Spencer," he said.

"Ah, right," Chad said, pulling himself to his feet. "Sorry about that, I-"

"Don't worry about it," Spencer shrugged. "It happens a lot."

Chad nodded and followed Spencer into the building. "So how goes living with Vance?" He asked.

"Okay, I guess," Spencer shrugged. "He spends most of his time in other people's dorms though. Which is fine with me, it means I don't have to worry about him knocking over my stuff."

"Ah, well if you ever want to hang out, you should come over," Chad suggested. "Troy, Braeden, Kevin and I either hangout in our room or theirs and sometimes Cooper and Steven hang out with us."

"I'll think about it," Spencer replied as their entered their hall. "It was nice talking to you."

Chad nodded and turned to go into his room when he saw Greer's sister sitting on the floor by Braeden's door. "Hetta?" He asked.

"Chad!" The blonde exclaimed, standing up. "Hi!"

"What are you doing here?" He asked her.

"I was bored," she shrugged. "Do you know where Brae is?"

"I'm pretty sure he's in class," Chad replied. "I'll tell him you stopped by."

"No, I'll stay and wait for him," Hetta said before sitting down.

Chad shook his head and went into his room. He grabbed his shower stuff, a towel and a clean pair of clothes before he walked down the hall to take a shower.

"Please tell me she's gone!" Braeden exclaimed when Chad walked into the bathroom.

"No, she's sitting outside your door," Chad chuckled. "How long have you been in here?"

"For an hour!" Braeden exclaimed. "If I go out there she'll probably try to steal my towel!" He gestured to the white towel around his waist. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I dunno, sorry, dude," Chad shrugged before he headed for the showers. He stepped into one and threw his dirty clothes out onto the floor while he put his clean clothes over the shower door. He turned on the hot water and put his body under it. He closed his eyes and savored the feeling of the hot water on his tired body.

A noise by the door made his eyes fly open and he saw his clothes disappearing over the door.

"HEY!" He yelled. "BRAEDEN!" He finished his shower quickly then wrapped his towel around his waist before grabbing his clothes. He stalked to his room-passing Hetta, who was begging Braeden to let her in-and threw open the door.

"What's your problem?" Troy asked, looking up from his computer.

"Braeden stole my clothes," Chad fumed as he pulled open his closet.

"What?" Troy asked, confused.

"He was afraid Hetta would steal his towel if he went out in just that, so he stole my clothes!" Chad exclaimed as he disappeared behind his closet door to get dressed. "I'm going to get him back!"

Troy shook his head and turned back to his computer.

As soon as he was dressed, Chad opened the door and hissed, "Hetta." The blonde looked over and came when he motioned for her. "You want in his room?" She nodded. "Wait here, until I get in." She grinned and he walked over to Braeden's room and knocked. "Braeden, let me in!"

It took a second, but Braeden opened the door and let Chad in. "Is she gone?" Chad nodded.

"Sorry about stealing your clothes," Braeden said. "I was desperate."

"I get it," Chad shrugged. "Just wash them before you give them back okay?"

"Sure thing," Braeden nodded. "Thanks, Chad."

"No problem," Chad said and opened the door. "Do you want me to close this?"

"No, it's fine," Braeden said.

"Later," Chad said and left the room. He saw Hetta standing by his room and said, "Go for it." She opened her mouth to squeal, but he covered her mouth with his hand. "Be quiet."

Chad waited outside until he heard Braeden yell, "CHAD!"

"PAYBACKS A BITCH!" Chad yelled back before going into his room.

"Your phone rang," Troy informed him. "And did you really just sneak Hetta into Braeden's room?"

"Uh, yeah," Chad stated before he grabbed his cell phone and saw Taylor's number listed under missed call. "He deserved it."

"I think I'm going to go to the library," Troy said, standing up. "I have a paper due tomorrow and the last thing I need is to get caught up in your war."

"Alright," Chad shrugged before climbing up onto his bed. He waited until Troy left the room before he called Taylor back.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed through the phone.

"You rang?" He grinned. "Can't live without me and-"

"There's somebody that wants to talk to you," Taylor cut him off.

Chad's brows crossed in confusion until he heard his little sister's voice.

"CHADDY!" She squealed.

"Hey Saby," he laughed. "What are you doing?"

"Taylor is sitting me," Sabra told him. "Mommy and daddy went to da movies."

"Very fun," Chad smiled. "What are you and Taylor doing?"

"We colored and played Barbies," Sabra told him. "When are you gonna visit me?"

Chad's heart tore when he heard the sadness in his sister's voice. "Not until Thanksgiving, Saby," he told her.

"Can't you come to my birthday party?" Sabra asked him. "Mommy's taking me skating."

"Saby, your birthday isn't until January," Chad reminded her. "I'll be home for your birthday."

"Really!" The sadness was gone from her voice as soon as it had appeared. "Will you get me a new Barbie doll?"

"We'll see," Chad laughed.

"Okay, Taylor wants to talk to you," Sabra told him.

"Saby, go pick out a movie to watch," Taylor said to Sabra. She wanted until the little girl was out of the room before she said to Chad, "Your parents should be here in an hour, then I'll be going back to my place and I will be calling you to discuss what you started talking about earlier." She lowered her voice. "'Cause I really can't live without your hands on my body and if I can't have you here then the second best is hearing you while I touch myself."

Chad groaned as he felt his loins grow tight just at her voice. "I'll be waiting," he told her.

"Great, bye," she said before clicking off.

Chad took several deep breathes trying to claim himself before he dialed Troy's cell number.

"Hello?" His best friend answered.

"Uh, how long will you be gone?" Chad asked him.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Why?" He asked.

"Well, uh, Taylor called," Chad shrugged. "And well she-uh-"

"Never mind, I don't want to know," Troy shook his head. "Call me when it's safe to come back."

Hanging up, Chad took a deep breath and glanced at the clock. 55 minutes to go. What was he supposed to do for 55 minutes?

Sighing, Chad climbed down and grabbed his history book out of his backpack. He set it on the desk and opened it up, barely understanding a word he read as he continually glanced at the clock.

45 minutes…

35…

25…

15…

Growing anxious, Chad closed his history book then made sure the door was locked and the blinds were down on the window before he climbed up on his bed.

He watched the clock intently as fifteen minutes ticked by then another and another.

Wanting to make sure his phone was working; he climbed down from his bed and called it using the dorm room phone. It rang perfectly. He sighed and dialed Taylor's number and hit go.

"HELLO?" She yelled over the loud music in the background.

"Taylor? Where are you?" He asked.

"WHAT?" She asked.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" He asked.

"SHARPAY'S," she replied. "PARTY!"

Chad sighed as he heard her talking to somebody at the party then cringed when he heard the over peppy, blonde Sharpay scream into the phone, "CHAD! YOU AND TROY ARE MISSING THE BEST PARTY EVER!"

"That's great, Sharpay," he rolled his eyes. "Let me talk to Taylor."

"WHAT'S UP?" Taylor yelled into the phone.

"Can we talk?" Chad asked.

"CAN'T RIGHT NOW! WE'RE GONNA DO TEQUILLA SHOTS WITH THE BOYS FROM THE RUGBY TEAM!" Taylor shouted before hanging up.

Chad slammed his phone shut then threw it open and shot a text to Troy.

_You can come back. I'll be back later._

Then he threw his phone on his bed and grabbed his shoes and basketball before storming out of the room.

Standing by Owen's door, Greer saw Chad storm out of the room and glanced at Owen. "I think I'm going to go," she told him. "But thanks for the help on the communication paper."

"No problem," Owen replied. "Oh and Greer, tell Hetta to stay out of the dorms, alright?"

"Sure thing," Greer smiled before leaving. She quickly went down the stairs and caught sight of Chad storming towards the park nearby campus. She followed slowly, wanting to give him some space and time to cool off before she approached him.

With the full moon illuminating the court, Chad heaved the ball at the basket time after time, most shots making it, some not. He couldn't believe she had stood him up for a stupid party and didn't even have the decency to call him. Not to mention the fact she had gotten him so excited and then nothing. Bitch.

"You know, if you'd played like that during basketball season my dad might have fought a little harder to have you on the team."

He spun around and saw Greer standing there with her arms crossed.

"So what's up?" Greer asked him as she grabbed the ball. "What's got you so pissed off that you're playing so well?"

"She called me," Chad stated as he grabbed the ball after she shot it. "She was babysitting my sister and promised me that she'd call me in an hour so we could have a –uh- private conversation-"

"Just say phone sex," Greer laughed. "I'm not a prude."

"Okay, so we could have phone sex," Chad felt his face heat up. "So I wait an hour and a half for her to call then I call her. She was at a fucking party! Getting ready to do tequila shots off the rugby team!"

"Ouch, that's rough," Greer said. "But there are some really hot rugby players."

"You're not helping," Chad retorted in a sarcastic singy-song voice.

"Sorry," Greer replied. "But here's a question for you. If you guys are fuck buddies, doesn't that imply that you aren't committed to one another?"

"Yeah, but she could have at least called," he snapped. "I mean, she told me that if I couldn't be there to touch her then she wanted me to talk to her while she touched herself! Do you have any idea what that does to a guy!"

"I have a pretty good idea," Greer nodded. "So what's so special about this girl, Chad? She's obviously yanking your chain, so why don't you just hook up with a girl around here?"

"She hasn't always been like this," Chad shrugged. "As much as I hate to say it, I think sex ruined her." Greer laughed. "I'm serious. We waited about six months into our relationship to have sex and they were awesome. I mean, sure, we made out and did a little exploring, but we also talked and laughed and had a great time together. It was good, clean-though occasionally dirty-fun.

"We didn't go to the parties in high school like other people because if the Coaches-my stepdad and Troy's dad-found out we were at parties, Troy and I could kiss everything but school goodbye. Then Tay and I started having sex and we found more and more excuses to be alone together and then it became all about sex. Then she dropped the news, just 9 months after we started dating, that she wanted to break up, but still have sex."

"And she has no idea you love her?" Greer asked.

"None," Chad sighed. "God, please don't tell Piper what I said about me and Troy not going to parties. She already thinks we're babies."

"Don't worry, Chad, nothing we talk about will ever be brought up to Piper," Greer assured him. "And the same goes with Troy, okay?"

"Agreed," Chad nodded.

"Feel better now?" Greer asked him.

"Yeah, I think so," Chad nodded. "Still a little ticked at her, but talking helped."

"Good, just keep in mind what I said, Chad," Greer said, handing him the basketball. "You don't have to let her do this to you. You deserve somebody that loves you or at least likes you as much as you like them. And I know some girls that would love to meet you."

"Really? Meet me?" Chad asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Apparently some girls on the softball team saw you pitching the other day," Greer shrugged. "And they mentioned it to me. So let me know."

"Okay, I will," Chad nodded.

"Come on, I'll walk you back to your dorm," Greer offered. "My car is parked over there."

Troy was printing his paper when Chad came into the room.

"Everything okay?" Troy asked him. "Your cell phone has been ringing non-stop since I got back. I finally answered it and Taylor told me to tell you to call her."

"Oh, so now she wants to talk," Chad rolled his eyes as he kicked off his shoes.

"I'm going to go brush my teeth," Troy told him. "Then I'll probably stop and ask Kevin to edit my paper for me."

"Thanks," Chad called after his friend before he picked up his cell phone. 17 missed calls, 16 from Taylor and 1 from Troy. He dialed her number and hit go.

"Finally!" She exclaimed upon answering. "Where the hell did you go?"

"What do you want Taylor?" He sighed.

"Look, Chad, I'm sorry about tonight, okay," she said. "I should have called, but Sharpay invited me over and rugby players are so hot-"

"Your point?" He asked, annoyed.

"Look, Gabriella and I are driving to school the Saturday after next and I was thinking we could make an unplanned stop in Tucson," she told him. "Maybe we could have a repeat of the last night you were here…"

"What would you do with Gabriella?" Chad asked her.

"She can hang out with Troy," Taylor shrugged. "We're all grown ups. Besides, she thinks we're dating and-"

"I told Troy the truth," Chad cut her off.

"YOU WHAT!" Taylor yelled. "Why did you do that?"

"Because he's my best friend, Taylor," Chad rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should think about telling Gabriella."

"Whatever, so let's just get this over with, okay," Taylor said. "I'm wearing-"

"Sorry, Tay, I'm not in the mood anymore," Chad told her then hung up his phone. He put it on silent then stripped to his boxers and climbed up to his bed.

Troy came into the room a few minutes later and shut down his laptop. "Everything okay, Chad?" He asked.

"Super," Chad replied. "Night." He rolled on to his side and sighed. Everything Greer had said made logical sense, but he wasn't ready to admit it was time to move on from Taylor. He would see how things went when she got here then he would assess everything.

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Please leave us reviews guys!! We really wanna know what you guys are thinking about this story!


	6. Chapter 6

Here's the next chapter for you guys!! Thanks to Yellow-Queen18 and Gorgeous Nick Stokes for reviewing the last chapter. And a heads up to Yellow-Queen18, you won't want to miss Chapter 9 but that's all I'm gonna say seals lips

Hope you guys like this chapter and please review!!

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**Chapter 6**

Troy sighed loudly and threw his already worn copy of "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man" onto the floor.

"Worst book _ever_," he announced to no one in particular as he fully gave up on his reading assignment. He really wanted to be a good, diligent student, but the stream of consciousness writing style was getting to him. The door stood open and he found himself staring wishfully into the hallway hoping that anyone would walk by to distract him so he wouldn't feel quite so lazy about giving up on his homework so easily. After a few minutes of looking into the empty space outside his door, Braeden stuck his head in the room.

"Is Chad here?" he asked. Troy shook his head and sat up. "Good." Braeden came in and stood next to Troy.

"What's going on?" Troy asked, very curious from the strange look on Braeden's face.

"Well, you know how Chad let Hetta into my room and I had to deal with her insanity and attempted groping for several hours? Now I have to get him back. Please help me," Braeden said.

"Well…" Troy started, looking around the room and smiling wickedly as his gaze landed on a box sitting on Chad's desk, "Wait! His mom just sent him this box, let's see in there's anything good in here." He and Braeden both jumped up and headed over to look into its contents. Inside were some bags of candy and a few gift cards, but nestled at the bottom was a ratty looking stuffed rabbit that Troy immediately recognized. "Holy shit! His ex gave him this and he was freaking out that he forgot it at home. Take this. It's going to be hilarious, he'll totally freak out!"

"Oh, I'm going to do better than just take it. I'm going to embarrass the crap out of him," Braeden said, taking the rabbit in his hands before running out of the room. Troy laughed at his neighbor and couldn't help but notice in that moment of evil plotting that he really _was_ Piper's brother. After that, he forced himself to finish the chapters he needed to read for the next day and even managed to talk himself into doing the journal entry that went along with the chapters. As he was writing the last sentence, Chad came in the room looking exhausted from his work out. Troy almost felt bad for a second for what he'd given to Braeden, but when Chad just snagged a bag of candy off the top of the box before collapsing onto the floor, Troy had to bite back a laugh. When Chad finally realized that the rabbit Taylor had given him was missing, he was going to lose it, not only because it was special to him but also because he didn't want anyone to know that he was so attached to a stuffed animal.

"What did you do today?" Chad asked with a mouthful of chocolate. Troy looked at him in disgust, wondering how he could negate an hour of exercise in handfuls of Snickers bars.

"Went to class, ran, did homework. Not very exciting. You?" Troy asked as he shoved his things back into his backpack.

"Pretty much the same. I had lunch with Greer," Chad said.

"Oh yeah? Is something going on there?" Troy asked. Chad laughed before chucking a Snickers at Troy.

"No, she's just good to talk to. We have a lot of stuff in common, and it's not like we planned it. We both just happened to be in the caf at the same time," Chad explained. Troy nodded and appeased Chad by eating the candy bar. "So you and Piper have made a truce, huh?"

"How'd you find out about that?"

"Greer. Piper told her about it."

"Great, now I have to worry that everything I say to her is going to be repeated. Awesome," Troy sighed.

"Well, she's talking about you. That's good, right?" Chad asked, prompting Troy to look at him incredulously.

"Yeah, it's great. I love it when people complain about me constantly. It does great things for my ego." Chad rolled his eyes.

"You are so hopeless," Chad stated before pushing himself into a standing position and heading for the bathroom. Troy felt his eyebrows furrow at Chad's comment. What the hell had he meant by that? Was he supposed to pretend to be thrilled at the idea of Piper constantly bitching about him? Or had Chad meant that Piper _wasn't_ bitching, but just sharing? Troy shook his head to rid it of that idea since it put way too many confusing and conflicting thoughts into his head.

"Braeden, open up!" Troy heard a familiar voice shout in the hallway and he found himself wanting to say "Speak of the devil" to himself. Troy could hear them talking quietly in the hallway for a moment before coming into Troy and Chad's room.

"Is Chad in the bathroom? I thought I heard him leave," Braeden asked.

"Yeah, I think he's taking a shower," Troy told him. Braeden grinned.

"Perfect," he said before turning and heading back into his and Kevin's room, leaving Troy and Piper alone.

"Hi, friend," she said, plopping down on Troy's bed and making herself right at home by helping herself to one of Chad's Snickers.

"Oh, we're using the F word now?" Troy asked as he sat down at his desk chair.

"Totally," Piper informed him, "I thought we talked about this." Troy just shook his head.

"Fine, we're _friends_," Troy laughed at her, "Because we're just so friendly to each other." She just nodded and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV and putting it on E!. He couldn't help himself as he kept looking back and forth from her to the TV, unable to comprehend how she had just infiltrated their room and made herself so much at home.

"Wow, this is _really_ awkward," Piper said out of nowhere.

"What? The fact that you took over my bed and TV?" Troy asked.

"No, sassy pants, the fact that you keep undressing me with your eyes. I mean, I know I'm on your bed, but you should really be ashamed of yourself. Pervert," she stated.

"You _wish_," he said.

"Not really. I don't feel like getting arrested for statutory rape today, thanks," she shrugged, changing the channel.

"I'm 18!" he exclaimed.

"Whatever, Pampers," she smiled, obviously loving the glare he was sending her way.

"Oh fuck off, Piper," Troy spat, turning around to check his email and attempting to ignore her presence.

"Do you always talk to girls that way?" she asked, trying to get a rise out of him, "Because it's kind of hot."

"It's not going to work," he mumbled through his fingers as he started a new game of Freecell.

"You're no fun at all," she said and he could hear her get off of his bed and walk out of the room. A few minutes and several failed games of Freecell later, Chad came back into the room and kicked up the doorstop so the door closed with a loud bang. They both turned their desk chairs around to watch some TV. They were settled in watching an episode of Family Guy when a loud bang sounded on their door.

"Was that a knock?" Chad asked. Troy shrugged and made no efforts to get up, so Chad stood and went to check the door. He opened and looked up and down the hallway to see if there was anyone there. "No one's out here." But when he went to close the door, he saw the piece of paper taped to it. His mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide.

"What is it?" Troy asked, heading over to see it for himself.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Chad exclaimed. Troy grabbed the edge of the paper and tipped it so he could see it and he had never had to try so hard not to laugh in his entire life. Hostage letter style, Braeden had cut out letters and words from a magazine and written Chad a note about the bunny's disappearance with a picture of it laying next to a pair of scissors at the bottom. Chad shoved the note at Troy before going for the box on his desk, emptying its contents only to find the rabbit missing. "Do you know who did this?"

"Absolutely not!" Troy lied, amazed at how effortlessly the lie had come.

"Well someone must have come in here while you were out running earlier. You never lock the god damned door!" Chad yelled. Troy rolled his eyes, knowing that Chad was worse at remembering to do that chore than he was. As they both stood there in strained silence, a chime went off on Chad's computer to let him know that he had a new email. He sat down at his desk and sighed when he looked at his Inbox. Troy peered over his shoulder and saw a new email from someone called i.steal.bunniez and it contained another picture of the stuffed rabbit, this one with the rabbit fake humping a baseball. "Do you think it was the bastards across the hall? They know I'm on the baseball team."

"Yeah, so does everyone else on the floor. You told everyone that at our floor meeting last week," Troy said.

"I'm so embarrassed. Now someone else knows that I have a fucking stuffed rabbit," Chad said, covering his face in his hands.

"But these only went to you, so everyone doesn't know. Plus, it was given to you by an ex-girlfriend. It's not like you picked it out and carry it around with you. It's for sentimental value," Troy offered, trying to help out his friend even though he still had to admit that Braeden's efforts were hilarious. He couldn't help but think that Hetta must be some new breed of crazy if spending a few hours with her warranted this much retaliation. Chad would never make that mistake again, of that much Troy was certain. Chad sighed and turned off the monitor to his computer as if that would make it all go away.

"I'm going for a walk," Chad sighed, grabbing his cell phone off his desk and heading for the door. Troy shook his head and headed for Braeden's room once he was sure Chad was long gone. He knocked and he heard Braeden shout out to ask who it was before telling him to come in, and inside he found Braeden and Piper watching a movie while Braeden worked on another poster.

"You're crazy," Troy laughed, pulling out Braeden's desk chair and sitting down.

"Is he pissed?" Braeden asked.

"I'd say he's mostly confused right now, but yeah. He's definitely pissed," Troy answered.

"You dumb boys," Piper rolled her eyes, "I'll never understand how you interact with each other."

"Oh yeah, because you're _so_ good at having healthy, normal relationships with people," Braeden said, prompting Piper to punch him hard in the arm.

"Just because I tell it like it is doesn't mean I'm dysfunctional in some way," she stated matter-of-factly. Troy snorted and stood back up.

"Disagree," he said simply before leaving, intending on putting on some sweats and climb into bed to watch a movie and spend the rest of his night being incredibly lazy. The door had barely latched shut when he heard it being yanked open and then shut once more.

"You know what, Troy Bolton? You're not _nearly_ as cute as you think you are," Piper said, and Troy was surprised to see a look of genuine annoyance on her face.

"Right back atcha," Troy smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know how you were raised, but it's absolutely ridiculous the way you talk to me, a _woman_ you hardly know."

"Woman?" Troy laughed harshly, "All I see is a _girl_ who's freaked out because she finally met someone who doesn't put up with her shit."

"At least I'm not a roided out jock who is so desperate to strike out on his own and be independent that he's gotten even more cocky and pathetic than he probably was in high school. You are not cute and you are _not_ special, I don't _care_ if you're on the basketball team!"

"Roided out? What the fuck are you talking about? I'm skinny compared to most of the guys at the gym."

"Well, whatever!" she sputtered, "It's not going to make a difference anyway because from the sounds of it, you're going to be sitting on the bench all season anyway."

"Oh, do you expect me to believe that Greer told you that her dad said that?" Troy asked, taking a step closer to her, "Nice try. I already know what position I'm playing, and I'm not even on the last string."

"Whatever," she said sassily, mirroring his pose and crossing her arms over her chest. That one word lit a fire deep inside of Troy. For his entire life, that word had irritated him more than any other, most especially when used in this type of situation. Piper had said it to annoy him and she had done it in a know-it-all way that was intended only to irritate. And it had certainly worked.

"Don't say that," Troy warned, "I _hate_ it when people say that. Just say what you really want to say to me."

"What-ever," she repeated, this time with an intentionally long pause between the two halves of the word.

"Piper…"

"Whatever, whatever, whatever," she said over and over, repeating the word until Troy did the only thing he could think of to make her be quiet. Without really thinking about it, he grabbed her upper arms and pulled her tight against him, crushing his mouth into hers in a searing and almost painful kiss. She squeaked against his mouth as her body collided with his and she hesitated, pushing against him with her crossed arms for a few seconds before relaxing as his mouth softened and captured her lips again. Even though the positioning was awkward and its start had been out of the necessity to stop Piper's obnoxious tirade, Troy couldn't stop kissing her. As his tongue sneaked out to lightly run across her bottom lip, a loud knocking came from the door, causing them to instantly jerk apart.

"Are you two done yelling at each other? I want some dinner," Braeden called out through the door. Piper and Troy just stood there looking at each other for a second before she turned and left without a word. Once the door had shut again, Troy let his body drop down onto his bed.

"What the hell?" he asked himself out loud.


	7. Chapter 7

Can you believe it's only been 5 days and we're updating again? I know, I'm shocked... I wanna saw another quick thanks to Gorgeous Nick Stokes and Yellow-queen18 for reviewing Chapter 6 - your comments rock our world! We can't wait to see what you guys think of this chapter :-D

**Chapter 7**

Climbing out of bed, Chad grabbed his shower stuff and made his way to the bathroom. He was still half asleep as he turned on the shower then climbed in. He showered quickly and as he was drying off, he saw a blur of black that sped by leaving a piece of white paper taped to his shower door. He wrapped the towel around his waist and ran to the bathroom door to see if he could see the person in the hall, but the hall was empty.

Sighing, he turned back and took the paper off the shower door. It had the magazine letters like the first one and the stuffed bunny was laying in the cup of a bra like it was a hammock.

Chad had to admit that if it was happening to someone other than him it would be funny, but it was happening to him and he was pissed. When he found out who was doing this, they were going to pay!

Troy's alarm was going off when Chad got back to their room, but Troy was still dead asleep, as per usual.

"Troy, get up," Chad barked as he flipped on the over head light.

"Go away," Troy groaned as he rolled over.

"You're going to be late for your test if you don't get up," Chad stated.

"FUCK!" Troy exclaimed as he threw off his blankets and jumped out of bed. He was half way to the door when he stopped. "Wait, I don't have a test today."

Chad shrugged and sat down on his chair to put on his shoes. He booted his computer and opened up his email account. There was another email from i.steal.bunniez and this time his stuffed bunny was posing with a cigar.

"That's great," Troy laughed as he looked over Chad's shoulder. Chad shot him a glare. "I mean, that isn't funny at all."

"Whatever, I have to go to class," Chad sighed as he stood up. "Lock the door, okay?"

"Got it," Troy nodded. He sighed in relief after Chad left the room.

Chad had been so distracted by the missing stuffed bunny that he hadn't even noticed that Troy had been acting weird-even Troy knew he wasn't acting normal. It had been two days since he and Piper had kissed and she'd been pleasantly absent-though he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Troy shook his head and headed for the bathroom to take a shower.

Chad stomped to class and half paid attention as he plotted what he'd do to the person who had stolen his stuffed bunny. The ideas he came up with included: putting Nair hair removal in their shampoo bottle, stealing their clothes when they were in the shower and hanging their underwear from the flag pole.

He was still plotting when he got to the cafeteria and got his lunch. He found an empty table and sat down.

"We have to stop meeting like this." He looked up and saw Greer standing next to the table. "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Go ahead," he replied. "But in all fairness, I'm in a bad mood."

"Did _she_ pull your chain again?" Greer asked him.

"No," Chad replied. "Somebody on my floor stole my-" he looked around and lowered his voice "-stuffed bunny that she gave me and now they're taking it around campus taking pictures with it."

"Oh yeah, Piper told me about that," Greer nodded.

"How did Piper know about it?" Chad demanded then it hit him. "Braeden!" He tapped his fingers on the table. "I'm going to get him back."

"How?" Greer asked him. Chad told her the ideas he'd come up with. "I have a better idea."

"You do?" Chad asked.

"Yeah," Greer smiled.

"Well, what is it?" Chad asked her.

"I'll bring it to you tonight," Greer stated.

They finished their lunches in silence then parted ways.

Done for the day, Chad went back to his dorm room and groaned when he saw another piece of paper taped to his door. This time, the bunny was sitting on the edge of a diving board.

If he hadn't already known that Braeden was behind it all, he would have figured it out since he recognized the landscape that was in the picture. He shook his head and crumpled the paper up and tossed it into the garbage. He hoped he didn't regret waiting for Greer to come through with her idea instead of approaching Braeden now and demanding the stuffed bunny.

Chad was typing the last sentence of his paper when his computer dinged, alerting him to the fact that he had a new email. He opened the email from i.steal.bunniez and saw his stuffed bunny hanging from a ceiling fan blade. Braeden was going to die when Chad got his hands on him.

A knock on the door distracted Chad from his mission to kill Braeden and he stood up and opened the door. It was Greer.

"Is Troy here?" Greer asked him. Chad shook his head. "Good." She pushed past him into the room. "Close the door."

Chad did as he was told and looked at her. "So what's your plan?" He asked.

Greer smiled and took off her backpack, dropping it on Troy's chair. She opened it and pulled out a pink teddy bear.

"What's that for?" Chad asked her.

"This is Braeden's _Pinky Bear_," Greer grinned.

"Not uh!" Chad exclaimed. "That's perfect, Greer!!"

"I know," she grinned and pulled out her digital camera. "And on here are pictures of _Pinky Bear_ around campus."

"That's awesome!" Chad laughed then stopped. "Wait, why are you helping me?"

"Because Piper did this to me during our freshman year," Greer stated. "And the only way to stop it is to do it right back. Believe me, when Braeden finds out you have _Pinky Bear_ you'll get your bunny back."

"Thanks, Greer," Chad said after he loaded the pictures onto his computer.

"No problem, tell me how it goes," she said before leaving.

Chad found the best picture-_Pinky Bear_ posing with a pair of black panties (whose, Chad wasn't sure) on its head-and hit reply on i.steal.bunniez email and attached the picture before sending it.

Troy was next door playing video games with Braeden and Kevin when Braeden's computer dinged.

"Let's see what Chad is going to say today," Braeden smirked as he paused the game. "I enjoyed yesterday's flood of f-bombs." He double clicked on the email and his jaw dropped. "What the fuck!"

"What is it?" Troy asked as he and Kevin came over to look. "Is that a stuffed bear wearing-"

"He has _Pinky Bear_!" Braeden exclaimed. "I mean-" he grabbed Chad's stuffed bunny and walked out the door. "CHAD!" He banged his fists on the door.

"I thought you'd be over," Chad smirked as he crossed his arms.

"Here's your stupid rabbit, give me _Pinky Bear_," Braeden demanded.

"I will as soon as we call a truce," Chad told him.

"Deal," Braeden said, shaking Chad's hand. "Now give me my damn bear!"

Chad grabbed the bear off his desk and handed it to Braeden.

"Just out of curiosity, how did you get my bear?" Braeden asked.

"I have my resources," Chad shrugged. "How'd you get my bunny?"

"Troy," Braeden shrugged before walking off.

When Troy got to the room a little while later, he found his bed covered in candy wrappers. "Real mature, Chad," he rolled his eyes.

"Shut up," Chad groaned from his bed. "I feel like I'm going to puke."

"This is why your mom never allowed you to eat more than five pieces of candy a day," Troy rolled his eyes. "And why exactly did you not throw your wrappers in the garbage?"

"Because you're a dickwad and knew where my stuffed bunny was the whole time," Chad said as he held his aching stomach. "I think I'm going to puke!" He jumped off his bed and ran out of the room.

Troy shook his head and grabbed his backpack. He wasn't going to get anything done with Chad moaning and groaning all night. He walked across campus to the library and sat down at the first unoccupied table he found. He studied in silence for nearly an hour and was concentrating so deeply that he didn't notice that somebody had walked up to his table until they dropped their stack of books loudly.

He jumped in surprise and opened his mouth to bitch but stopped when he saw a familiar set of blue eyes staring back at him.

Back in the dorm, Chad returned from the bathroom, feeling slightly better and collapsed onto Troy's bed. He didn't have the energy to climb up onto his. He fell into a light sleep and barely heard his phone chirp alerting him to the arrival of a new text message. On shaking legs, he stood and grabbed the phone off his desk.

_See you Saturday. Tay_


	8. Chapter 8

Cate here with the latest update! Thanks so much to those of you who have been faithfully reading and reviewing. Ally and I are having so much fun writing and planning this story! Please let us know what you think!

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**Chapter 8**

"So, Pampers, what's up?" Piper asked as she plopped down in the chair across from his. Troy sighed and moved his things out of the way so she could have a space to work in front of her chair. He surveyed her carefully. He'd been anticipating their next encounter, wondering what it would be like, if there would be tension, if they'd avoid each other, or if he'd still feel the driving lust mixed with annoyance he'd felt when he'd kissed her. As she rolled her eyes at him before opening a notebook, however, he found himself only wanting to roll his eyes right back, not shove everything off the table and make out with her on top of it. So, instead of validating her insulting question with an answer, he just got back to his homework.

They worked in mostly non-awkward silence until she shut her notebook forcefully and sighed in an obvious attempt to gain his attention.

"Yes?" he asked, not even bothering to look up at her.

"Are we going to talk about it?" she asked and Troy felt his stomach flip-flop.

"We have to talk about it?" he asked, immediately realizing how rude he must have sounded.

"Well we don't _have_ to, no," she snapped grabbing another notebook and opening it.

"I didn't mean it like that," Troy said, reaching out across the table, bringing his fingers only inches from her own, as if that would somehow take it back.

"Whatever," she said, still looking annoyed for a split second before a big grin over took her face.

"I thought we talked about that," Troy smiled back.

"I think it was less talking and more you thrusting your tongue at me."

"Hey! There was no… thrusting," Troy said, dropping the level of his voice considerably as he realized there were other people seated nearby who might misconstrue that word if they heard it taken out of context. Piper just laughed.

"No there wasn't. But there might have been if my stupid brother hadn't knocked on the door."

"Piper…" Troy started, and he wasn't exactly sure why he said her name. But, he knew that his voice had come out somewhere between warning and longing. That one comment had brought back into his mind the incredibly inappropriate dream he'd had about her the night before—all brought on by one kiss.

"Don't get mad at me. I was the assaul_ted_, you were the assaul_ter_," she stated.

"Don't make it sound like that. It wasn't like that," Troy said disgustedly.

"Then what _was_ it like?" she challenged. Troy didn't have an answer for her. Sure, before that moment he'd found her attractive, but he had never thought of her in that way because frankly she annoyed him too much. So, he did the best he could and told her the truth.

"Honestly, I did it to shut your mouth. Apparently the only thing that makes you quiet is having something physically stopping you from speaking. Were you born without gene that makes you know when to stop?" he asked.

"Were _you_ born without the gene that makes your balls eventually drop?" she spat, grabbing her things and shoving the chair back forcefully so she could escape. He wanted to yell out to her, but he could see the librarian in some nearby stacks and didn't want her to yell at him. He'd had more than enough bad experiences with librarians already in his life, he didn't need to add another to the list.

As best he could, he finished his studying and put his things back into his backpack before heading for the stairs via the medical section. While traversing the winding paths, he passed a small alcove where a desk and chair was located and before he knew what was happening, he was being shoved against the wall, his backpack digging painfully into his spine. But before he had the chance to protest or remove his assailants death clutches from his biceps, he felt a pair of lips press into his. Once he could wrestle the person away, he saw Piper staring up at him, breathing heavy. A million thoughts went through his mind at once, but he settled pretty quickly on the decision to just go with it. After she had obviously determined he wasn't running away, she grabbed him again and kissed him, her tongue immediately searching out his own as their hands grappled for dominance in the situation. Troy was half-irritated and half-more aroused than he had ever been before at Piper's forcefulness. He'd never been with a girl before who didn't want him to make all the first moves and take control of the situation. With Piper he was fighting to even make the decision as to when he could tip his head in the other direction. As her body moved closer, he knew he was caught as her stomach came into contact with the rapidly hardening bulge in his jeans. He felt her press closer and linger against him for just a moment before pulling away. His body immediately mourned the loss of her warmth against him and before he could make a comment, she was around the corner.

"Night, Pampers!" she called out as she walked away. Troy sighed and let his head drop back harshly against the wall as he willed his erection to go away. Once it had subsided enough that he dared venture to where he might see other people, he pushed off the wall and started back for the dorms. His head was spinning the entire way, unable to even begin wrapping his brain around what was going on. He and Piper had never done anything other than bitch at each other, and now they'd kissed twice, both times brought on by really strange circumstances.

He debated the entire walk back whether or not to tell Chad about what had happened. He'd omitted the first encounter because he'd assumed it was a fluke of some kind. Now what was he supposed to think? This time, _she'd_ been the one to initiate, and Troy wasn't about to complain about _that_, but he was tempted to complain about Piper's bizarre attitude. One minute she was acting like he annoyed her, then she wanted to talk about the kiss, then she was pissed off, and then she was mauling him in the stacks. By the time he had arrived in their hallway, he was certain that telling Chad was not in his best interest, not until he knew what the hell was going on.

In the room, he found Chad and Kevin seated on the edge of Troy's bed watching the TV intently.

"What are you-" Troy started, but that was all he got out before they both shushed him.

"We're watching 'Lost,' so shut up!" Chad scolded. Troy rolled his eyes and tossed his backpack onto his desk chair before going over to stand by them.

"Why do I have to be quiet?" Troy sighed. Chad shot him a pointed look before pausing the DVD.

"I rented all of season one this summer, but didn't get the chance to start the second season. But Amy got it for Kevin for his birthday and it's a really intense show. So _that's_ why you have to be quiet," Chad explained.

"Whatever," Troy stated, immediately smiling to himself.

The next few days drug by painfully slowly due to lengthy reading assignments and increasingly difficult workouts. By Friday, Troy was more than ready for whatever the weekend would bring, as long as it didn't have anything to do with textbooks or basketball. Chad had practice until seven, so Troy had gone out to grab some dinner before he planned on watching some TV and relaxing before they started their night. Apparently, Kevin had been invited to another party at the same house, and they had asked specifically that he bring along both Chad and himself. They'd agreed because frankly they didn't have anything else to do and being social after a stressful week sounded damned good to both of them.

As he was eating the last bite of his meatball sub, someone knocked on the door. He tossed his sandwich wrapper into the garbage can before taking a quick sip of his pop and then heading over to open the door. He'd expected to see one of his neighbors, but instead found Piper standing on the threshold dressed impeccably in a high-waisted pencil skirt, white button-up blouse and what Troy could only define as some really high heels. She brushed past him as she moved into the room and he shut the door quickly so he could turn around and fully take in the way her outfit was clinging perfectly to every curve in her body.

"So, I had an interview out of town today, which left me lots of time to think about things," she told him as she set her purse down on Chad's desk, "And I think we're sitting on the cusp of a pretty interesting opportunity."

"Huh?" was all he could manage.

Since he was obviously incapable of coherent thought, Piper decided to get right to the point. "I think we should be fuck buddies."

"Huh?" he repeated, his eyes growing wide at her statement.

"Well Pampers, we both annoy the hell out of each other. You, for example, are a particularly strange breed of obnoxious, but the fact that I find you so attractive I can hardly keep myself under control around you is not working out very well as the other night proved."

"So how would this work?" he asked, certain parts of his anatomy more than intrigued by her suggestion.

"Essentially… when I want you, I call you and you come running," she grinned wickedly.

"And when _I_ want _you_?" he asked. She laughed at him and stepped forward to lightly pat his cheek.

"Troy, I plan on keeping you so busy you'll hardly be able to walk. But sure, if you feel the need to call _me_, you just go right ahead." Troy felt his erection, now pressing firmly against his zipper, get impossibly even harder at that comment.

"But isn't this a little fucked up? I mean, this usually doesn't work for people. I've seen people try…"

"Aren't we already a little fucked up, Troy?" she asked simply, and he couldn't do anything to deny that. They just stood there for a few moments looking at each other and Troy found his brain spinning once again.

"So… what do we do now?" he asked, and again she laughed at him.

"Get on your bed," she ordered as she reached up and undid the button on her blouse that she'd had buttoned for professional reasons at her interview. Now, however, it seemed that a little bit of cleavage wouldn't hurt at all. He slowly walked over and sat down on his bed, watching Piper curiously as she toed off her heels and sat down beside him.

For a split second, Troy found himself noticing how strange this was. This time, it wasn't a random passionate moment, it was somewhat planned, but still completely hot. After sitting there awkwardly for a few seconds, Piper leaned over and kissed him sensually, her mouth sliding over to kiss his cheek and then his neck. Troy's eyes rolled back in his head, but for a completely different reason than typically happened in Piper's presence as her tongue slid slowly over his Adam's apple, and his hands moved to attempt to pull her onto his lap. It was then that he realized that the nature of her skirt would be keeping her from straddling his body like he desperately wanted her to at the moment.

"Fucking skirt," she mumbled against his lips as she consented to sitting in a sort of weird side-saddle on his lap. As she scooted a bit farther forward, her leg bumped into his erection. "Does that thing ever go down?"

"You'd better hope not for your sake," he sassed and she just smiled at him before reaching down to lightly run her fingertips over the raised fabric.

"Should we see what you're packing in your Pampers?" she teased, gripping him a bit more firmly. Troy tried to bite back a moan.

"You have to stop calling me that," he sighed as she slowly unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans so she could snake her hand inside to reach his gray boxer briefs. "Well?"

"What? Do you want me to take out an ad in the paper congratulating you on your penis size?" she asked, never stopping her hand from slowly brushing up and down his shaft inside of his boxers. He leaned forward and captured her bottom lip between his and kissed her until their tongues were sliding together intently and his hand had worked its way up her side to gently cup her breast. Troy smiled to himself as he simultaneously moved his mouth to her neck and his thumb ventured out to rub against her nipple, because Piper let out a breathy moan at his actions.

"Is something wrong?" he teased.

"Shut up, Troy," she breathed as his mouth continued to ravage the soft skin of her neck. She let him continue for a few moments before pushing him back lightly. "What do you want me to do to you?" Troy gaped at her, unable to think of a single thing to say. Honestly, he really didn't care what she did as long as she didn't leave and some part of her body was still touching his. Instead of responding verbally and sounding like a moron, he decided to just pull her close and kiss her roughly. As his fingers made their way to the next button on her blouse and slipped it through the hole, her fingers tightened their grip on his shaft, causing him to involuntarily moan.

They both stopped short as they heard a light knock on the door.

"Don't worry about it. The door is locked and Chad won't get out of practice for another hour," Troy said breathlessly. Piper just nodded and leaned forward to kiss him again.

"Troy?!" they both heard someone ask from the doorway. Piper's hand flew from Troy's pants and she slid off his lap. Troy couldn't do anything but stare at Taylor and Gabriella who were looking equally mortified back at him.


	9. Chapter 9

No, your eyes are not deceiving you... we actually have a new chapter for you! I want to apologize for it taking so long to get to you (especially with the cliff hanger we left last time), but Cate has been really busy and I myself (this is Ally, by the way) have been suffering from a touch of writers block. So hopefully the fact that this chapter is mainly Chaylor will make up for our lack of updates for what has been like 20 days or something? I'm pretty sure we'll have another update for y'all next week sometime... so look out for that :-D

p.s. Thanks to the ever lovely Yellow-queen18 and laxgirl14 for reviewing the last chapter!! Can't wait to see what you two (and anybody else who graces us with a review insert picture of Cate and Ally on their knees begging for reviews) think of this chapter!

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**Chapter 9**

Chad was headed for his last class of the day when his cell phone vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered, "Hello?"

"Hi, it's me," Taylor's voice said. "There's been a change of plans. Gabriella and I are leaving tonight; we're going to stay the night in Tucson."

"Ok," Chad replied, stopping outside the classroom. "Why, may I ask, are you guys leaving tonight?"

"I figure there's a party somewhere on your campus that we can ditch Troy and Gabriella at so we can go back to your dorm or my hotel room," Taylor replied.

"Well you're in luck, Troy and I got invited to a party last night," Chad grinned as his teacher started to talk. "I'll call you when I get out of class."

After class, Chad ran back to his dorm room, barely able to keep his excitement hidden. Luckily, Troy was no where to be seen, because if he had been, Chad probably would have spilled his guts. He changed into his workout clothes and grabbed his bat bag before heading to practice.

"Hey, it's me," he said after Taylor answered her cell phone. "Where are you guys?"

"Rest stop, I told Gabriella not to drink both bottles of pop," Taylor replied.

"What time do you think you guys will get here?" He asked as he walked towards the baseball fields.

"Probably 6:30ish," Taylor replied. "What time does the party start?"

"Not until 9, but I'll be in practice until 7, although I could ask coach if I could leave as soon as you get here," he stated. "Yeah, I'll talk to my coach." He gave Taylor directions to the baseball fields.

They exchanged their goodbyes and Chad stuffed his phone into his back pocket. He dropped his stuff in the dug out and exchanged high fives with his teammates before he headed over to Coach Scott.

"You got a minute?" He asked.

"Yup," Coach Scott nodded, giving Chad his full attention.

"Some friends from home are driving through Tucson tonight and I was hoping I could leave practice a little early," Chad said. "Normally, I wouldn't ask, but their delivering some stuff to me from my parents and I'm, uh-" he glanced around. "-a little homesick."

Coach Scott chuckled softly and patted Chad on the back. "It's never bad to admit you're homesick," he said. "And you haven't missed a single practice, so yes, you can leave practice early when your girlfriend gets here."

Chad's jaw dropped. "How did you know?"

"Just a hunch," Coach Scott smiled. "Get your glove and start warming up. If you're going to leave early, I want to make sure you get all your pitches in."

"Thanks Coach," Chad said before he jogged back to the dugout to grab his glove.

Two field-length sprints, thirty jumping jacks and 75 pitches later, Chad reached into his bat bag and pulled out his water bottle. He squirted a little into his mouth but poured most of it over his head.

"Starting the wet t-shirt contest a little early, are we?" A female voice said from behind him.

Chad spun around, expecting Taylor, but found Greer. He tried not to let his disappointment show, he failed.

"Expecting someone else?" Greer asked as she leaned against the fence as he packed up his stuff.

"Taylor's coming today," Chad replied. "Like any minute now."

"Ah, the chain puller," Greer smiled as she looked around the field. "Is that her?"

Chad looked up and saw Taylor and Gabriella walking towards them. Taylor looked flawless-as usual-in a pair of tight jeans, a tight red shirt and a pair of red sunglasses, while Gabriella looked like she'd just rolled out of bed in a pair of Capri sweats and a white tank top.

"She's cute," Greer said. "A little on the skinny side-"

"That's Gabriella," Chad replied as he zipped up his bag. "Troy's ex-girlfriend."

Greer smirked. "Does Troy know she's here?" She asked.

"Troy doesn't know anything," Chad retorted as he left the dug out.

"Chad!" Taylor exclaimed, spotting him. She quickly ran over to him and kissed him hard on the lips. "God, baby, I missed you so much." Then so only he could hear she said, "Gabriella still thinks we're a couple."

His smile grew as he snuggled his face in her hair. God, she smelt like home.

"Apparently, Chad has forgotten his manners," Greer said, holding her hand out to the uncomfortable Gabriella. "I'm Greer Carter, my dad is the basketball coach here."

"Gabriella Montez," Gabriella replied, timidly taking Greer's hand. "So how do you know Chad?"

"Coach Scott, the baseball coach, is my best friend's dad and my best friend's brother lives next door to Troy and Chad," Greer replied, noting that Gabriella seemed to tense up at the mention of Troy's name. It was going to be a long night-she glanced at Chad and Taylor who were still embracing-especially with those two. "Are they always like this?"

Gabriella just nodded.

Greer rolled her eyes and tapped Chad on the shoulder.

"What?" He asked, looking at her annoyed. She pointed at Gabriella. "Oh, hey Gabriella."

"Hey Chad," Gabriella replied. "Can we go now, Taylor? I want to get to Phoenix before dark."

"Actually, we're staying in Tucson tonight," Taylor said, as she turned to her best friend. "Surprise!"

"We're what?" Gabriella didn't look amused. "But you said-"

"Gabriella, I had to see Chad," Taylor stated. "You should have assumed this was going to happen."

"I should have flown like my mother suggested," Gabriella groaned. "Can we just get this night over with already?"

"Sure, do you guys want to come with me to my dorm?" Chad asked. "I have to shower then we can go get some food, you guys can check into a hotel then we can go to the party."

"Sounds good," Taylor replied as he slipped his arm around her waist. "It was nice meeting you, Gretta."

"It's Greer," Greer called after them.

"Whatever," Taylor called back.

Chad walked to Taylor's car with the girls then climbed into the front seat after Gabriella climbed into the back. He directed Taylor to his dorm building and instructed her to park in a thirty minute parking spot. He led them up the stairs to his floor and handed Taylor his keys.

"Troy should be home, so just knock on the door, but if he doesn't answer, just unlock the door with this key," he told her and headed for the bathroom. He was almost there when he heard the girls shout Troy's name. He turned on his heel and hurried back, not expecting to see what he saw.

Piper and Troy were frozen in place on Troy's bed. Piper's bra was exposed and Troy's-Chad covered his eyes and said, "Dude!"

"_DUDE_!" Troy yelled back.

Chad pulled Gabriella and Taylor out of the room and shut the door. He cringed when Taylor grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me that Troy has a girlfriend?!" She yelled in hushed tones.

"He doesn't have a girlfriend," Chad replied. "That's Piper. He hates Piper and she feels the same way."

"Oh really, then why the hell was her hand down his pants!" Taylor exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Chad replied as the door to his room open and Piper fled the room.

"Then go find out," Taylor ordered.

"I will," Chad nodded. He went into the room.

"What the fuck was that, Troy?" He asked at the same time Troy asked, "What the fuck are they doing here, Chad?"

"I asked you first," Chad said, crossing his arms.

"What did it look like?" Troy retorted, he looked up and saw Gabriella and Taylor standing in the doorway. "Can we have this conversation some where else?"

Chad nodded and grabbed his shower stuff. "You two can wait in there," he told Taylor and Gabriella before he and Troy headed to the bathroom. He dropped his stuff in a shower stall before he turned to Troy. "Since when are you and Piper messing around?"

"That isn't important right now, what is important is why the fuck my ex-girlfriend and _yours_ are doing here," Troy retorted.

"Think hard, Troy, and you'll know why they're here," Chad replied, he waited a couple seconds. "Taylor and I are fuck buddies. She's here so she and I can hook up."

"So why bring Gabriella?" Troy asked. "And why tonight? I was going to get laid, man."

"Maybe next time you should put the rubber band around the doorknob," Chad suggested.

"What rubber band?" Troy asked, confused.

"The one that Owen taped to each of our doors," Chad stated. "So events like this don't occur." He shook his head. "Whatever, I gotta shower because I have stuff to do before Taylor, Gabriella and I go to the party."

"They're coming to the party?!" Troy exclaimed.

"Yup," Chad replied before he climbed into the shower. He stripped out of his baseball gear then quickly showered. He wrapped his towel around his waist then went back to his room. The girls were sitting at his and Troy's desks, but Troy was nowhere to be found.

"Hey sexy," Taylor smirked when she saw him come into the room. "Got something for me under that towel?"

"My god!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Can't you two wait until I'm not in the room?"

"There's the door," Taylor smiled at her friend.

"Fuck you," Gabriella retorted as she crossed her arms. "Tell you what, you guys can drop me off at the hotel and go do whatever the fuck you want to do."

"You have to come to the party," Chad told her, sitting down on Taylor's lap. "You'll have a blast."

"Uh, Chad, close the legs," Gabriella said, though she didn't move her eyes from the area he was exposing.

"Impressive, huh?" Taylor smirked as Chad walked over to his closet and shielded himself from view as he got dressed.

"Better than Troy's," Gabriella replied. "Though, we all know that now, I mean we all got an eye full or in Troy's case, _half_ an eye full, right Chad?"

"No way, not going there," Chad shook his head as he stepped out of his closet in a pair of jeans and a brown shirt with a piñata on it with the words "I'd Hit That" written underneath.

"Nice shirt," Taylor smiled.

"Thanks, got it from a hot chick," he leaned over and gave her a kiss; taking full advantage of the fact that Gabriella still thought they were a couple. "Let me put my shoes on and we can leave."

After he put on his shoes, he locked up the room and led the girls back down to the car. Then he drove them to a motel close to the campus, where they checked in and went into their room.

Since they hadn't been dressed for a party-Gabriella in particular-Chad had been forced to wait for them to change. Taylor was now dressed in a short jean skirt-which he assumed was more for easy access later than fashion-and a silk camisole. Gabriella was dressed in a teal halter dress that fell right above her knees.

"So, what sounds good for dinner?" Chad asked the girls as he pulled out of the motel parking lot. "We could do pizzas, there's a KFC, there's a -"

"Please tell me you're not eating all that nasty food, Chad," Taylor said, scrunching up her face. "Your mom would be so disappointed that you're eating that stuff, not to mention that stuff is all nasty."

"I'd go for Taco Bell," Gabriella offered from the backseat.

Chad looked at Taylor, hopeful that she'd agree.

"Whatever, I'll just get a salad," she rolled her eyes.

Upon reaching Taco Bell, they piled out of Taylor's car and Chad paid for all of their food. They sat down in a booth and quickly ate their dinner, as it was nearing 9 o'clock.

The party was in full swing by the time Chad, Taylor and Gabriella entered the house. He exchanged high fives with some of the guys from the baseball team as well as those he'd briefly met around campus.

"Where are the drinks?" Taylor asked as she slipped her arm through his.

"Why?" He asked, looking at her.

"It's a party and your stepdad is 6 and a half hours away," Taylor smirked. "So it's perfectly safe for you to drink." She stopped a person walking by with a cup and asked where they got their drink. Then she, Gabriella and Chad headed for the kitchen, the declared source of the alcohol.

"Chad!" He looked around when he heard his name called and saw Kevin waving his arms. He was standing in the kitchen with his girlfriend, Braeden, Greer, Troy and Piper-though Troy and Piper were noticeably trying to ignore each other.

"Hey," he said as he led the girls over to them. "This is Gabriella and my-"

"I'm his girlfriend, Taylor," she cut him off, slipping her arm around his waist.

"But I thought-" Kevin stopped when he caught the look Chad was giving him. "-you were going to Stanford."

"Oh, I am," Taylor replied. "But we're stopped on our way."

"Well that's sweet," Amy smiled. "I'm Amy that's my boyfriend, Kevin."

"Ah, once again Chad displays his impressive manners," Greer snickered behind her cup.

Chad rolled his eyes. "I was getting there," he told her. "That's Braeden, he's Piper's brother and you-" he grinned. "-you've met Piper, sorta."

Taylor looked at Piper and sized up her before she said, "Oh, right, you were the one in Troy and Chad's room with your-"

Chad slapped his hand over her mouth. "Let's go get something to drink and dance," he said before he led her away.

"What the hell was that for?" She hit him as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Did you not hear the part about me saying Braeden is Piper's _brother_?" Chad hissed. "He'd kill Troy if he found out."

"Would that really be such a loss?" She asked and he glared at her. "Geez, sorry."

Chad got them each a cup of whatever was sitting on the counter then led her into the crowded living room, away from his friends. He felt bad for leaving Gabriella there, but Troy would look after her.

The first sip of Chad's drink was bitter as it slipped down his throat, but as his body moved against Taylor's and he continued to drink from the cup, he found himself loosing control of his body.

Taylor, who had been grinding her body against his while facing away from him, turned to look at him as Ludacris's song "What's Your Fantasy" poured out of the speakers. She licked her lips as her eyes met his.

_I wanna li li li lick you from your head to your toes  
and I wanna  
move from the bed down to the down to the to the floor  
and I wanna ah ah you make it so good I don't wanna leave  
but I got to  
let let me know wh what's your fant-tasy_

Chad leaned down and captured her lips with his own, pulling her body closer to his as they deepened the kiss.

"Let's get out of here," he whispered as he felt his jeans getting tight. She smirked and set their drinks down on a random table before they left the party. They hurried over to her car, him climbing into the drivers' seat and her in the passengers' seat.

He almost swerved off the road when he felt her hand graze over the bulge in his pants.

"Taylor," he hissed as her hands fumbled with his zipper at a stop light. "Just wait."

She smirked at him as she moved her hands away from his body then lifted her hips off the seat and shimmed out of her panties.

Chad barely had time to sigh in relief that there hadn't been an accident-on the road or in his pants-when he shut off the car in the motel parking lot. He held his pants up and followed Taylor into the room-making sure to put the 'do not disturb' sign on the handle.

She launched herself into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist as soon as he turned around. He let his pants fall to the ground then half-walked half-scooted over to the nearest bed, dropping her onto the bed.

She clicked her lips as he pulled his shirt over his head and threw it over his shoulder. He kicked off his shoes then kicked off his jeans, leaving him in just his boxers and socks.

"Come on, loverboy," she called. "We've got a lot of time to make up for."

He smirked and turned to find her laying as he'd left her. He climbed on top of her and lowered his lips onto hers as his hands rested on her hips. He licked down her neck and across the cleavage that was showing.

"Chad," she whispered.

He helped her slide her camisole over her head, exposing a lacey, black front-closure bra-his favorite kind. He leaned up and pressed a hard kiss on her lips before his hands cupped her full breasts-his thumbs brushing over her nipples.

"Chad," she said, louder.

His hands moved to the valley between he breasts and he popped the bra open with ease-releasing the two mounds of chocolate. He lowered his mouth to one, licking and nipping at it while he rolled the other nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He gave both of her breasts the same treatment, leaving them raw and her moaning in pleasure.

"Chad," she whimpered as he kissed down her body and stopping just above her jean skirt. He smirked and kissed the inside of her thighs-he loved driving her crazy. Then she grabbed a hand full of his curls and pulled his head up so their eyes could meet. "Don't be a tease."

"But I-" He cringed as her grip on his hair tightened. "Ok, ok…" She let go of his hair and lifted her hips of the bed after he undid the button and zipper on her skirt. He slid them down her body then positioned himself between her legs.

His eyes met hers as he touched her sensitive nub and rubbed it with the pad of his thumb. She moaned in response and closed her eyes. He slipped a finger into her hot sex and felt his hard member straining against his cotton boxers.

She moaned as his finger slid in and out of her quickly. Her hips started to buck as she neared her release and she moaned loudly when he replaced his fingers with his tongue and lapped at her folds until she came.

Licking his lips, he kissed back up her body and met her lips, sliding his tongue into her mouth. Her hand slid between their bodies and pushed his boxers down far enough to free his hard member from the offending material. She pushed him back and he rolled onto his back. She crawled down to the end of the bed and swirled her tongue over the tip of his manhood before she took him into her mouth. She paid special attention to the tip and shaft with her mouth, but used her hands to massage his balls.

After he came, she climbed on top of his body, straddling his waist, and lowered her lips to his. His arms wrapped around her body and took a firm hold on her ass.

"You do have a condom, right?" She asked, breaking away from him.

"I brought them earlier," he replied. "They're in the bedside table."

Taylor leaned over and smiled when she saw a box of condoms in the drawer. "How'd you get them in here without Gabriella or I noticing?" She asked.

"Skills," he smirked as he opened the box, pulled one out and unwrapped it.

She took it from him then rolled it on to his hard manhood and guided him into her sex. Already highly aroused, she road him hard and he met every one of her thrusts with one of his own. She came first and he rolled them over so he was on top and pumped into her until he came.

Breathing heavily, he fell to her side and closed his eyes.

"Don't tell me you're tired," she said as her hand ran over his toned chest. "I was hoping we could go all night…"

"Give me five minutes," Chad replied. He could feel his loins tightening already, just at the thought of going at it all night.

Taylor's hands traced his chest, over his pecs and abs and down to his happy trail.

"Okay, I'm good to go," he announced before he rolled on top of her and she squealed.


	10. Chapter 10

As promised (and even a day early, might I add) here is Chapter 10!! I can't promise that we'll update next week.. Cate's life is going to be crazy for the next week or so... but we'll update as soon as she writes her chapter. Hope you like it :-D

Special thanks to laxgirl14, caliciara, Yellow-queen18 for reviewing the last chapter!

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**Chapter 10**

Troy couldn't exactly remember the last time he'd been so angry and embarrassed at the same time. One, several people had just caught him in the middle of getting a hand job. Two, Chad was allowing his own penis to mess up the lives of those around him. Three, now Chad knew about himself and Piper. Troy wanted to go punch something very hard, but was halted when Kevin came out of his room.

"Hey Troy, what's up?" Kevin asked cheerily. Troy wanted to respond with "Not _me_ anymore, thank you very much!" but instead forced himself to bounce back and stop looking pissed off.

"Not much, man," Troy sighed, opting not to tell Kevin about the unexpected arrival of his ex and Chad's current fuck buddy. He just really didn't feel like talking about it. He just wanted to forget and go to the party.

"We're all going to go out to eat before the party. Wanna come with?" Kevin asked. Troy almost declined, but then felt his stomach grumble, so he just nodded instead. He looked down at himself and decided that he looked good enough to go to the party and followed Kevin into his room. Inside he found Braeden, Greer, and Amy watching TV. "We're just waiting for Piper to get back from her interview." Troy nodded and tried not to smile at the thought of Piper waiting out in the girls' bathroom downstairs fixing herself up so she looked like she had just gotten back instead of that she'd been making out with him.

"She's so fucking slow," Braeden muttered.

"Trouble in sibling paradise?" Troy asked, grabbing Kevin's desk chair and sitting down.

"Nothing out of the usual," Braeden shrugged, "I just get sick of waiting for her all the time."

"She probably has a good reason for being late," Troy said. Everyone looked up at him, curious as to why he was saying something nice about her for once, so he caught himself and continued. "You know, sacrificing a lamb or something." No one really responded to his comment, but he knew he'd just saved himself from a lot of suspicion. After they all sat and watched a rerun of "Scrubs" for another five minutes, Piper breezed through the door looking fresh with her shirt buttoned, her hair fixed, and a pair of trouser jeans now taking the place of her pencil skirt.

"Are we going or what?" she asked.

"Don't start, Piper. Not until I've had a beer or twelve," Braeden said, shutting off the TV and following her out of the room. Troy felt his pulse quicken as he, too, followed and he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, letting him know that he had a text message.

"Who are you calling?" he heard Braeden ask Piper as the turned to go down the stairs.

"I was just seeing if I had any new voicemails, dillhole. Leave me alone," she spat. Troy flipped open his phone to see that he had a text from Piper.

_Try to be cool, Pampers._

He almost rushed ahead to scold her for calling him that name again, but then remembered what she'd just told Braeden. If she wanted to keep it a secret, that was fine by him. Except for the fact that Chad, Gabriella, and Taylor already knew. Taylor knowing was the worst as she never knew when to keep her damned mouth shut.

Dinner went fine and Troy distanced himself sufficiently from Piper, putting himself at the opposite end of the long booth at Red Robin they'd been forced to squeeze themselves into.

"Do I need any money for the party?" Troy asked Kevin as he looked into his wallet that was empty now that he'd paid for his dinner.

"Why, are you actually drinking tonight?" Kevin laughed. Troy snuck a glance at Piper down the table. She was sipping her margarita and he couldn't help it as he stared at her tongue as it reached out to steal some salt from the rim of her glass. His pants immediately felt tighter.

"Yeah, I think I will," Troy said.

"Awesome! And no, you don't need any money. The beer's free and if you want something stronger, Braeden and I are going to bring a couple of flasks with us." Troy nodded and thought about his decision. He'd never drank before, but people had always told him that it was relaxing and he definitely needed to chill out.

They dawdled around the restaurant until it was time for the party and after dropping off Piper and Kevin's cars at the guys' dorm, they started off in the direction of the frat house.

"You're awfully quiet tonight, Pampers," Piper called out over her shoulder, not even bothering to turn around to address him as they walked.

"You probably just can't hear me over your never-ending babbling," he stated. She spun around and stopped in place. Once everyone else was far enough away, she smiled at him.

"What?" he asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable under her intense gaze.

"You're so hot when you talk to me like that," she whispered before turning around and trotting to join the group. Troy took advantage of the opportunity to admire her ass in her jeans.

"Let's go get you a beer, Troy," Kevin smiled, clapping a hand on Troy's shoulder as they walked up the front walk to the frat house.

"Yes, please."

A few minutes later, Troy found himself standing in the kitchen with a red plastic cup full of keg beer in his hand.

"Drink up, Pampers. I'm looking forward to watching you fall down and puke all over yourself later," Piper said from across the circle they'd arranged themselves in after they'd all gotten drinks. Troy glared at her before taking the first sip. It tasted bad, but not undrinkable. So he forced himself to take a long drink and to keep a straight face, staring defiantly back at her once he was done. He tried to keep pace with the other people in the group, not wanting to drink too fast even though he wanted the effects of the beer and he assumed that it would take longer than he wanted it to. After he'd finished his first ever beer, he felt a cold metal object being pushed into his hand.

"It's Jack Daniels. Drink it, it's good for you," Braeden grinned, watching eagerly as Troy took a sip, the bitter liquid making him gag the second it hit his tongue. Somehow, he managed to choke it down and immediately felt a warmth spread through his chest.

"That was awful," Troy groaned, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Pussy," Braeden laughed, slapping Troy on the back before offering it to Greer.

"Try this, Troy. You'll like it better, I promise," Kevin said, handing him a different flask, "It's mint, tastes just like Scope." Troy took it on faith, and found Kevin to be true to his word and took a second swig. After a few minutes of talking, Troy felt his head start to get fuzzy.

"Are you getting tipsy?" Greer asked him. Troy honestly had no idea, as he'd never had more than a sip of wine at church in his entire life.

"I don't know, I'm feeling something so I guess so," he shrugged, "Is my head supposed to feel all tingly?" Greer laughed at him and slung an arm around his shoulder.

"Yes, Troy," she said, "Now let's go get you another beer."

"Where are you guys going?" Piper asked, and Troy thought he heard a hint of jealousy in her tone.

"To get more beer. You want one?" Greer asked. Piper straightened, obviously having caught her error before tossing her empty cup to Troy.

"Sure, bring me back one. Try not to spill it, Troy," Piper said. Troy flipped her off before following Greer back to the keg.

"So what's going on with you two?" Greer asked as she handed her cup to the guy at the keg.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked, finding it incredibly difficult to play dumb. Greer looked at him and laughed.

"You're the worst liar I've ever seen," she chuckled, "She's my best friend and I know when she's acting differently. So, what's going on?" Troy held up his hands, the red cups dangling from his fingers, and shrugged.

"I'm not saying a word," he said, looking slightly taken aback when the frat member took the cups from his still raised hands.

"You're wasted," Greer smiled.

"Am not," Troy stated childishly, trying his hardest to look serious, "And who cares if I'm drunk anyway. Isn't that why people come to parties? To get drunk?"

"I was just making an observation, Troy, you don't have to get all snippy with me," Greer said, testing Troy to see what his response would be. Troy immediately felt awful, the guilt sinking down to his stomach. He hadn't meant to offend her.

"I'm so sorry, Greer!" he said, pausing emphatically between each word.

"Just don't do it again," she said, trying to keep a straight face as Troy followed her back to the group.

"So what's the verdict?" Piper whispered to Greer, stopping her before she could reenter the circle.

"Won't admit that anything's going on between you two, and also a babbling, guilty drunk. Have fun!" Greer whispered back. Troy found himself again sipping out of Kevin's flask and he felt his face get flushed as the alcohol continued to hit his system.

"Chad!" Kevin shouted out, allowing Troy to keep the flask as he went over to join Chad, Taylor, and Gabriella as they entered the kitchen. Troy groaned and pocketed the flask. He did _not_ want to talk to Gabriella when he was drunk after the debacle that afternoon. He knew how he would feel if he'd walked in on a guy with his hand down _her_ pants and could only imagine how awkward she was feeling. He saw Chad put his hand over Taylor's mouth and pull her out of the room, leaving Gabriella standing there looking incredibly uncomfortable. Just when he thought he'd be forced to go over and keep her company, Greer stepped in and did just that.

"Christ, you smell like you made out with a bottle of toothpaste," Piper said, coming over to stand in front of him while the others went over to get more beer.

"No toothpaste, just a fire breathing she-beast," he said. She rolled her eyes and reached her hand into his front pocket, lingering for just a moment longer than necessary before pulling out the flask. "You could have just asked me for it."

"And how much fun would _that_ have been?" she asked, sniffing the container's contents before taking a small sip. "Peppermint Schnapps?"

"How the fuck should I know?" he asked, "I've never even drank before tonight… shit. I didn't want you to know that."

"Why not?" she prodded.

"Well gee, you already make fun of me for everything else, why wouldn't you make fun of me for never having drank anything or never having gone to a party before I came to college? Shit, I didn't want you to know _that_ either."

"Why do you care so much about what I think?" she asked, sliding the flask back into his pocket.

"I could give a shit what you think," he lied, "I'm just sick of you giving me crap all the time."

"Well you'd better just get used to that, Pampers, because I give shit to _everyone_."

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Troy said, rolling his eyes and taking a long sip of his beer, "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Piper opened her mouth to respond, but Greer and Gabriella were approaching them.

"I'm going to kill them!" Gabriella said to Troy as if they were in the middle of a conversation.

"Kill who?" Troy asked.

"Chad and Taylor," she responded, looking at him as if the answer should have been very obvious. He looked at her, waiting for her to respond and when she didn't, he sighed.

"And why are you going to kill them?" he asked.

"Have you been drinking?" Gabriella asked him. He waved the glass of beer in front of her face in a circle.

"Gabi, why are you going to kill them?" he repeated, thoroughly sick of her looking at him judgmentally.

"Because after they had dry-humped each other in the living room for a few minutes, they took off in Taylor's car and left. They left me here, Troy!"

"So call them!"

"I already _did_ and both of their phones are off. They're so inconsiderate. I don't care if they're 'in love'," she started, making little quotation marks in the air with her fingers, "nothing excuses ditching someone where they know nobody but their drunk ex-boyfriend."

"Okay, Gabi. One, they're not in love. They're not even dating anymore. They've been fuck buddies for awhile now and didn't tell anyone until Chad finally told me about a week ago. Two, I'm sorry that they ditched you, but I clearly can't drive you anywhere, so just try to have a good time. You can crash on Chad's bed if they went to your hotel room, okay?"

"Thanks, I guess," she said. Troy could tell that she wasn't satisfied with his offer, but didn't know what she wanted from him. He wasn't about to stop having a good time at the party to go sit awkwardly in his dorm room with her. That was pretty much the exact opposite of his definition of a good time, actually. Greer offered to go sit outside with Gabriella and they left, leaving Troy and Piper alone in the kitchen.

"That wasn't very nice of you, Troy," Piper said.

"What was I supposed to do? Drop everything and go sit somewhere with her? We haven't even talked since we broke up. Do you have any idea how awkward it is for me to even be in the same place as her?" Piper just looked at him and smiled.

"You're just Blabby McBlabberson tonight," she laughed, "And way to tell her that Chad and Taylor aren't dating. I'm sure they're going to _love_ you for that." Troy slapped his hand over his mouth.

"Shit," he mumbled against his fingers.

"_And_, I can't believe you're being so callous, I mean… she doesn't know anyone else here and you're making her go hang out with _Greer_, a stranger? I know she's your ex, but come on, Troy. Don't be such an asshole." He dropped his hand from his mouth and placed it on her shoulder.

"Do you really think I'm an asshole?" he asked.

"I didn't say that. I said that you're _being_ an asshole. There's a difference. And come on Troy, she didn't ask to be brought here, you can tell that. She's looked miserable since the first second I saw her. But then again, the circumstances weren't exactly the best. She's been through a lot today and I just can't _believe_ you're just ignoring her." Troy felt the guilt sink heavily into the pit of his stomach again. Well, it was either that or the copious amounts of alcohol he'd consumed in a relatively short period of time.

"I should go talk to her. God, I can't believe I was being such an ass. Thank you so much, Piper," he babbled, making to walk out of the room. Piper sighed, and grabbed the back of his shirt, fisting her hand in the soft blue fabric of his polo.

"Troy," she said firmly once he'd turned to face her again, "I'm fucking with you. She's fine with Greer."

"No… I should go talk to her, right?" Troy asked. He knew that she was messing with him, but that guilty feeling just wouldn't go away. He couldn't help but put himself in her shoes and imagine how he would feel if he was stuck at Stanford and she was ignoring him and leaving him alone in a strange place. Piper grabbed his arm and drug him towards the window, pointing outside to show him Greer and Gabriella sitting together and laughing in the backyard.

"Greer's a pro at making new friends and trust me, she'll have a much better time with her than with your weird drunk ass," Piper said, sipping her beer.

"I'm not weird, _you're_ weird!" he said.

"Mature," she commented.

"Oh yeah, you're such a mature person you spend all this time giving a freshman shit. Don't you have anything better to do? Or at least anything else you _want_ to do with your time?" he spat, noticing despite himself that she had once again unbuttoned the top button of her blouse.

"No Troy, I can't think of a single thing I'd rather do than get you all riled up," she said softly and he almost didn't hear her over the noise of the party. Troy felt himself take a deep breath. "God you look sexy when you're mad."

"Shut up," he stated, looking down at her and breathing heavier than he had been a moment before.

"Everything okay over here?" Braeden asked as he bounded up. Troy realized that to an outsider it would have looked like they were fighting, but still shook his head to make his brain stop going in the direction it was headed and felt it immediately start spinning. He reached out his hand and placed his hand on the nearest steady surface which just happened to be Piper's shoulder.

"You okay, Pampers?" she asked.

"Um… everything just started spinning," he managed. He didn't feel like he was going to throw up, but he _did_ feel like he was going to fall over.

"And you wonder why I call you a baby," she said before turning to Braeden, "I'll take him to sit down. Why don't you go do another beer bong."

"Good idea, sis," he said, giving her a shove before running back out of the room. Piper slipped her hand into his and led him out of the room.

"Where are we going?" Troy asked, sneaking an eye open to gauge his surroundings.

"There's this little hallway back here that people don't usually go in. It'll be quieter and we can sit down until the room stops spinning, okay?"

"Why are you being nice to me?" he asked as she leaned him against a wall and pushed down on his shoulder until he got the hint to sit.

"Because you'll be no good to me later if you're passed out or puking," she informed him as she sat down next to him, "Why did you drink so much hard stuff your first time drinking?"

"I just wanted to be drunk."

"Why?"

"You make me nervous," he said, leaning his head to the side and finding that when he opened his eyes, Piper's face stayed firmly in place. The room had officially stopped spinning.

"Nervous?" she laughed, "And here I was thinking I was making you horny."

"Well, that too," he admitted, "And I don't know why. I mean, sure you're hot, but you piss me off so much. Even now that I know you're just messing with me you _still_ piss me off. Why is that?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "But what I _do_ know is that you should stop thinking about it."

"Why?"

"Well, because then you'll just keep talking about it."

"And what's wrong with that? I like talking. You _clearly_ like talking or at least hearing yourself talk and-"

"God, can't you find a better use for your mouth than that?" she asked, placing her hand over his mouth to still his speech. He almost asked her what she meant, but then the wheels clicked into place. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Drunk, but fine."

"Drunk is okay, drunk I can handle," she said, slinging a leg over his lap and scooting herself close to him.

"Hi," he smiled, placing his hands on her back and smoothing them over the crisp white fabric.

"Shut up, Troy," she whispered before leaning forward to kiss him. Her lips sought out his only a few times before she pulled back and stood up, extending her hands to help him stand.

"Why did you stop?" he asked as she again took his hand and started to lead him.

"Because what I want to do to you, I can't do in the hallway of a frat house," she told him matter-of-factly, "My apartment is only a few blocks away. Think you can make it without falling?"

"I already told you," he sighed, "I'm fine now." And then, as he walked down the sidewalk with her, he realized what was likely coming. He had only ever had sex with Gabriella and the thought of doing so with Piper was insanely exciting. However, he couldn't stop feeling guilty about telling Gabriella Taylor and Chad's secret.

"Troy, what's wrong with you?" Piper asked, noting the frown on his face.

"I just feel bad about what I told Gabriella about Taylor and Chad," he shrugged, "Chad's going to be really pissed when he finds out."

"Well I'd let him know that it's coming so at least it doesn't blindside him when Gabriella tells them she knows, which you know she will." Troy nodded, knowing that it was a good idea, and left Chad an apologetic voicemail letting him know what had happened.

Once they reached her building, Piper unlocked the door and led the way through the living room to the stairs.

"Can you do the stairs?" she asked, stopping a few steps from the bottom. He found his face level with her shoulder blades, so he reached his hands around and hugged her closer. His hands moved to the top of her jeans where he yanked on her shirt until it came untucked and then unbuckled her belt. "What are you doing?" Her voice came out breathy, but she didn't turn around to stop him.

"Taking off your clothes," he whispered. He undid each button, starting at the bottom and working his way up to the final button, the one located directly between her breasts. Once that last button was undone, he pulled the shirt back, off her shoulders. Not wanting to rush anything, he placed a kiss to the middle of her back and ran his fingertips over her newly exposed skin. She broke herself from his touch and turned around, giving Troy a better look at her black lace bra.

"Take off your shirt," she ordered and he immediately complied, dropping his shirt right next to hers on the stairs. "Take off your pants."

"Isn't it your turn now?" he asked, though he was already removing his belt.

"Just do what I told you to, Troy, okay?" He unbuttoned the button fly of his jeans before pushing them to the floor, leaving his black boxer briefs in place. He stepped out of them and his flip-flops and pushed her into the wall, kissing her hard on the mouth. Her hands fled to his chest, shoving him backwards.

"Upstairs," she said, leading the way, belt jangling as she walked quickly up the stairs. It took Troy a moment to compose himself enough to move again. The sight of Piper walking up the stairs ahead of him, hips swaying subtly but sexily, was not helping the situation in his underwear. He caught up with her and followed her into the door on the left. He wanted to take in his surroundings and see what the room of the most enigmatic person he'd ever met contained, but the sound of the door shutting behind him was plenty distracting. "Go over to the bed." Troy wanted to be offended at her bossy tone, but the second he saw her hands move to the button of her jeans, all thoughts of contradicting her flew out the window and he practically ran to the bed. She pushed her jeans to the floor, showing off the pair of matching lace boyshorts underneath.

"You look great like that," Troy said as she walked towards him.

"What? You mean I don't look good all the time?" she asked. He pretended to think about it for a minute.

"Um, yeah. Pretty much," he lied.

"Fucker," she laughed, reaching forward and twisting one of his nipples before standing between his legs. "I'm leaving my bra on, by the way."

"No you're not," he informed her, immediately reaching around to unhook it. She sighed as he pulled it down her arms.

"I like that bra," she whined.

"Yeah, me too," he started, "On the floor." She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back onto the bed so she could carefully pull down his boxer briefs. Troy propped himself up on his elbows as he watched her taking him in.

"Not bad, Pampers," she said before removing her underwear and climbing to straddle him. As if by magic, Troy thought, she suddenly had a condom in her hands and was rolling it on him.

"Don't you want, like… foreplay or something?" he asked.

"You're such a girl," she rolled her eyes before positioning herself over him and sinking down slowly. Troy's hands immediately went out to grab onto her thighs as she moved herself on top of him and it felt so good that he let her condescending comment slide. They moved together quickly, both of them obviously of the mind that this first time was not going to be slow. Troy wondered for a brief moment if Piper would even like sex like that, she just seemed so frank and to the point about everything. Troy's release found him much sooner than he would have liked, but since Piper followed him only a few seconds later, he didn't worry about it too much.

"Jesus…" Troy sighed as he fought to regain a steady heartbeat.

"Jesus had nothing to do with that, it was all me," she laughed as she lifted herself off of him and walked over to her dresser.

"You're so modest, Piper," he said, grabbing his boxers from the floor and pulling them on. She pulled on a tank top and scrub pants before pulling back the covers and pushing Troy to the other side of the bed so she could climb in. "Do you want me to go?"

"Get under the covers, Troy. You need to sleep off your drunk and I'm in no condition to drive you back home," she informed him.

"Yes ma'am," he said, doing as told and realizing as soon as his head hit the pillow that the room was spinning again.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked, peering over at him as he had his eyes clenched shut tight.

"Um… yup," he murmured, rolling over to face away from her and pulling the blankets tighter around his half naked body.

"Just don't puke in my bed, okay?"

"Mmmkay," he replied, willing sleep to take him quickly.

Troy woke up the next morning, his head throbbing intensely. He immediately felt that Piper was pressed against him and looked down to see that she was hugging onto him like he was a body pillow. Smiling slightly despite his headache, he lightly pushed her hair from her face, thinking that she looked so peaceful and innocent when she slept. He would have watched her sleep like that for hours, but she stirred shortly thereafter, immediately pushing herself away from his body.

"Sorry," she mumbled, sitting up and running her fingers through her hair.

"It's fine, nothing to apologize for," he said.

"You want some breakfast?" she asked, "Or are you too hungover?"

"No, I think I need to eat something and take some Advil," he told her.

"Great, then go grab the box of chocolate donuts from the kitchen counter and bring them up," she grinned, laying back down and pulling the sheets up to her chin.

"You're impossible." Troy pushed himself to a sitting position and headed for the door. He had to navigate around their discarded clothes on the stairs and went into the kitchen he'd seen on their way in last night only to stop immediately at the door. Suddenly very aware of his almost nude state, he had walked in to find Greer and Gabriella eating cereal at the kitchen table.

"Oh, hi Troy," Greer said, trying not to laugh and failing.

"Um… hi," he said, wanting to cross his arms over some part of his body but not sure what part he most wanted covered. "Just grabbing these." He inched inside and grabbed the donuts before leaving the room quickly. Taking the time to pick up their clothes, he made his way back upstairs, his heart thumping almost as hard as his head the entire way.

"Good boy," Piper said as he entered and he saw that a glass of water and bottle of Advil was sitting on the bedside table next to his now empty side of the bed.

"Greer and Gabriella were fucking sitting down there eating breakfast," he told her.

"You gave them quite a show, huh?" she asked, laughing at him before taking a donut as he pulled on his shirt and jeans.

"Piper! That's my ex-girlfriend and now she knows that I had sex with you last night!"

"Do you still have feelings for her or something?" she asked.

"No. God no! But it's still awkward."

"Too late to take it back now, so just sit down, have some donuts, and then leave so I can do my homework." Troy sighed and sat down, doing as he was told wondering the entire time if this was going to be worth it. As he thoughts drifted back to the image of Piper straddling his body, however, he knew that it was.


	11. Chapter 11

Once again it's Ally bringing you a new chapter!! We're on a roll... three chapters in three weeks... something must be wrong with us! :-D Cate and I have been doing a lot of brainstorming for this story over the last couple days and we've got some crazy ideas that we can't wait to write! I'd like to say that we'll hopefully start updating once a week... but I can't make any promises... Cate's life is getting less busy but mine is headed for overdrive with only 3 and a half weeks left of school... so we'll do as we can. So anyway... we can't wait to see what you guys think of the newest developments and thanks to LoveIsLost29 and caliciara for reviewing the last chapter!!

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**Chapter 11**

Gabriella was beyond pissed as she sat outside at the party. She couldn't believe Taylor had done this to her. It wasn't just that she had tricked Gabriella into leaving Albuquerque a day early so she could "have dinner" Chad then ditched Gabriella so she could go fuck her "boyfriend" leaving Gabriella alone at a party where the only person she knew was her drunk ex-boyfriend.

Especially since they'd walked in on said ex-boyfriend getting a hand job from a blonde skank-err, girl-and now said ex-boyfriend was following around said girl like a puppy on a leash.

Gabriella sighed and looked at the dark haired girl sitting next to her. At least she had Greer, who'd been nice to her the minute they'd met.

"Thanks for not ditching me," Gabriella said.

"Don't mention it," Greer replied. "I'd rather be hanging out with you than watching Piper and Troy bitch at each other."

"Oh believe me, it's better than the alternative," Gabriella stated.

Greer laughed and nodded. "I heard about the little walk in earlier today," she said.

"You don't know the half of it," Gabriella shook her head. "First, we caught Troy hanging out of his pants then Chad came into the room and gave me an excellent view up his towel."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Was it impressive?"

"Who's?"

"Both, I guess."

"Sure, Chad a little more than Troy." Gabriella smirked. "And I'm going to keep saying that until he hears about it."

"Spoken like a scorn lover." Greer laughed as she stood up. "You wanna get out of here?"

"And go where?"

"There's a Denny's a couple blocks from here that has the best apple pie."

"Sure."

They made their way back into the crowded frat house and escaped out the front door after Greer said goodbye to several people.

"So why'd you and Troy break up?"

"He chose Chad over me."

"Wait, what?"

"Troy got accepted to Stanford, like me and silly me thought he was going to go there so we could be together." Gabriella sighed. "Then when I started talking about us getting an apartment together he informed me that he wasn't going to Stanford, but coming here so he and Chad could go to college together."

"That's not so bad. I mean, it's not like he left you to be gay with Chad or something." Greer shrugged. "That happened to Piper, ya know, her boyfriend our junior year in high school dumped her and two weeks later she found out that he was dating his male best friend."

"Well, honestly, after everything that's happened today, I wouldn't be surprised if two weeks from now we find out that Troy and Chad are gay."

Greer laughed and opened the door to Denny's. A waitress led them to a table by the window and took their order of two pieces of apple pie topped with whip cream and vanilla ice cream and two cups of coffee.

"So Chad says you all didn't party in high school."

"Well, Chad, Troy and I didn't, mostly because our parents would have killed us and if you knew Chad's stepdad, who's like 6 foot 5 and 200 plus pounds, you couldn't blame Chad and Troy, for that matter, for staying away from parties."

"Geez.. I thought my dad was tall at 6 foot 2…"

"Yeah, I know, right? Chad's dad is the football coach at East High and Chad got detention on my first day at the school and after he got yelled at by Coach Bolton, he had to ride home with his stepdad and you better believe that Chad didn't get detention ever again."

"What about Taylor, did she party?"

"Not until January of last year, she turned 18 right before Christmas and now that I know she and Chad had broken up, I guess it makes more sense that she went to parties with Sharpay…"

"Sharpay?"

"East High's drama queen extraordinaire who likes to throw parties at her parents mansion when they're away." Gabriella shrugged. "I guess it just shows how different those of us with parents that were around are than those whose parents aren't around."

"Where were Taylor's parents?"

"He dad took off when she was six and then her mom took off when she was eleven, leaving her and her fifteen year old sister with their ubber strict Catholic grandma, who passed away just a few weeks after I met Taylor. Then she moved in with her sister and went kinda wild."

"I can't imagine taking care of my younger siblings." Greer shook her head. "I mean, I think I could take care of Iden, she's only 15, but there's no way I could handle Hetta. She's crazy."

"Crazy in what way?"

"She's in love with Piper's brother Braeden and somehow, nobody is exactly sure how, gets onto the boys' floor at the dorms." She laughed to herself. "It's funny actually. She actually started at war between Chad and Braeden."

Gabriella laughed as Greer told her about the stolen stuffed rabbit and the pictures and notes that went along with it.

"So were Chad and Taylor dating when you met them?"

"No, Taylor was focused on her school work and clubs then she and I became friends and since I was dating Troy, she and Chad just naturally started dating."

"Did Taylor love Chad?"

"I thought so…" Gabriella shrugged. "But now, I dunno."

"You don't think they were serious?"

"I dunno, I guess they would have had to be if they were having sex, though nowadays you don't necessarily have to be serious to have a sexual relationship with somebody…"

"That's true… but they had to have felt something for one another to want to keep having sex."

"Yeah…" Gabriella took a sip of her coffee. "Why are you so interested in Chad's relationship with Taylor?"

"Just curious," Greer shrugged and looked at her watch. "Man, it's a quarter til twelve. I can't believe we've talked this long."

"I don't suppose your sister could get me into Troy and Chad's dorm," Gabriella sighed as they put money on the table to pay their bill.

"You can crash at my place," Greer told her. "It's not far from here, besides, some of the guys on their floor are creepy."

"You sure?" Gabriella asked.

"Positive, I'll even let you borrow a pair of my pajamas so you don't freeze," Greer stated. She led Gabriella out of Denny's and they made the quick half a block trek to the apartment she shared with Piper. She led Gabriella up the steps to the apartment and let her in.

"Cute place," Gabriella noted.

"Thanks," Greer smiled. "Let me get you those pajamas then I'm going to go check on Piper." She went into her room, the master bedroom, and grabbed a pair of blue cotton pajama bottoms with little duckies on them and a matching yellow top. Coming out of her bedroom, she handed them to Gabriella and said, "If you need to use the bathroom, it's the first door on the right when you walk into my room."

"Thanks," Gabriella nodded before heading for the bathroom.

Greer headed for the stairs, but stopped when she saw Troy and Piper's clothes on different stairs. She shook her head and reassigned herself to getting blankets for Gabriella to use.

"Is she here?" Gabriella asked, coming into the living room with her hair pulled back.

"Yup," Greer nodded. "Let me know if you need anything else, okay?"

"Okay and thanks Greer," Gabriella said.

"Don't mention it," Greer replied before going into her room. She grabbed her cell phone and called Chad to let him know Gabriella was with her then she changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top then climbed into bed.

A few miles away, Chad was grinning like a fool after he and Taylor finished their fifth round of sex. He desperately wished they could stay in her hotel room for the rest of their lives and pretend the real world didn't exist.

"Whatcha thinking?" Taylor asked as she rolled over and placed her manicured hand on his chest.

"Nothing," he lied. He knew how she felt and there was no need to upset her when she fully intended to fuck him until they were both too sore to move.

"You sure?"

He nodded and smiled as she rested her head in the crook of his arms. The next thing Chad remembered was the sun bleeding in through the curtains. They'd fallen asleep and spent most of their precious hours together sleeping.

"Damn it," he muttered as he looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table, it was already eight thirty in the morning. "Taylor, wake up."

"Five more minutes," she muttered, her hot breath hitting his nipple.

"It's eight thirty, Tay, you guys gotta get back on the road soon," he told her.

"Ugh," Taylor groaned as she sat up in the bed, letting the blankets fall away from her body. "I need a shower." She swung her legs over the bed and headed for the bathroom, pausing briefly by the door when she saw that he wasn't following. "You coming?"

Chad grinned and hopped out of bed, quickly covering the distance between it and the bathroom. He wrapped his arms around her naked body as she turned the shower on and tested the water.

Climbing into the shower, her hands went immediately to his manhood and grasped it until it was hard as the hot water poured over their bodies. His lips found hers as they repositioned so her back was against the wall then he lifted her leg up and slid his manhood into her sex. Their movements were short and quick and neither lasted long as they came together moaning.

After he pulled out of her, she gave him a long, hard kiss then pulled back the curtain. "Get out," she told him.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Go find out where Gabriella is," Taylor told him. "Then when I'm done with my shower you can take one."

He frowned after she closed the curtain then grabbed a towel from the towel rack before he went back out to the main room. He grabbed his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and turned it on.

Five missed calls, four new voices mails.

The first two missed calls and first voicemail were from Gabriella: "_I hate you so much right now, Chad Danforth! You're such an ass for leaving me here by myself!_"

He deleted it, not caring about her feelings towards what he and Taylor did. At one point, she and Troy would have done the same thing.

The second voicemail was from his mom: "_Hey C-bear, it's mom. Haven't heard from you in awhile, so I thought I'd give you a ring. Call me back soon._"

Chad smiled and saved the voicemail, making a mental note to call his mom after the girls left.

The third voicemail was from Troy: "_Dude… juss wanna let jous know dat I assadently 'old gabi bout jous and taylors._"

At first Chad thought that Troy had randomly called him, leaving a drunkin' message, but after listening through a second time Chad's smile left his face. Troy had told Gabriella about him and Taylor being fuck buddies? Taylor was going to be pissed and so was Gabriella…

The fourth voicemail was from Greer: "_So I hope you and your fuck buddy had fun last night. Oh and just in case you were curious, I hung out with Gabriella last night and she crashed at mine and Piper's place. So give me a call when you get this and I'll give you directions. Oh and by the way-Troy told Gabriella about the Taylor and you fuck buddy thing… she's been pretty quiet about it…I hope for your sake that she stays that way._"

Chad sighed and dialed Greer's number.

"Hello, you've reached the number for Greer's babysitting service, are you looking for somebody to babysit your fuck buddy's best friend because you ditched her or because you got ditched when your best friend and her fuck buddy ditched you at a party on a strange campus?" Greer answered, in her best overly cheerful voice.

"I know, I know, I owe you," Chad sighed as he scratched his head.

"Oh boy, do you ever," Greer laughed. "So, how was the sex?"

"I'm calling to get directions to your place," Chad told her.

"My, my, my, aren't we snotty today," Greer rolled her eyes. "Did she yank her chain again, Chad?"

"No, we had sex five times last night, thank you very much," Chad retorted. "And she gave me a couple blow jobs. But that's beside the point; I need directions to your place."

"How about we just meet at your dorm?" Greer suggested. "Piper left her car over there and Troy's too hung over to walk back to the dorms."

"Troy's there too?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, when Gabriella and I got here his and Piper's clothes were all over the stairs," Greer replied. "Anyway, we'll meet you at the dorms in thirty minutes-unless you need a few extra minutes for round six."

"Already had round six," Chad stated. "And we'll be there."

He closed his phone and tossed it to the side before he laid back on the bed, exhausted. As he laid there waiting for Taylor, his eye lids grew heavy and he was almost asleep when he felt a hand reach under his towel and graze his manhood. No longer sleepy, he shot up and found Taylor standing before him in a matching white towel.

"It's all yours," she smiled then stepped out of his reach. "And by _it_ I mean the shower."

Chad groaned and went into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and didn't have a choice but to take a cold shower, but not because his manhood was getting hard, but because she'd used all the hot water.

In the main room, Taylor pulled on a pair of short jeans shorts, a white halter top and slipped her feet into a pair of cork wedge heels with a pink strap. She pulled her little mirror out of her suitcase and put on her make up.

After Chad came out of the bathroom and got dressed, she assigned him the task of carrying her and Gabriella's bags out to her car and loading them while she checked to make sure nothing was left behind. She pulled the box of condoms out of the drawer and dumped half of them into her purse before she left the room.

Then, while Chad was returning the key and paying for the hotel room, Taylor pulled her phone out of her purse and turned it on. Five missed calls, all from Gabriella and two voicesmails.

First: "_I fucking hate you right now Taylor Ann McKessie! I can't believe you ditched me at this party in this god forsaken town!_"

Taylor rolled her eyes and deleted the message. Gabriella could be so over dramatic at times.

Second: "_YOU AND CHAD ARE FUCK BUDDIES?!_"

Taylor's eyes narrowed as she deleted the message and waited for Chad to get back to the car, she glanced over her shoulder and saw him headed in her direction.

"You ready-" he stopped when he saw her face. "I take it Gabriella called you."

"You knew that she knew?!" Taylor exclaimed. "How the fuck did she find out?!"

"I got a drunk voicemail from Troy," Chad said, biting his lower lip. "Apparently, he becomes chatty Cathy when he's drunk."

"When I get my hands on that assh-" Taylor stopped, suddenly and glared at Chad. "This is your fault!! If you had just kept your fucking mouth shut-"

"There's nothing we can do now," Chad told her. "So what if Troy and Gabriella know? They're our best friends, they should have known in the first place."

"Whatever, just drive," Taylor said, crossing her arms.

Chad sighed and climbed into the drivers' seat. The drive back to his dorm was silent and he wasn't sure if he was happy or sad that Gabriella and Greer were waiting outside the dorm for them when they got there.

He and Taylor climbed out of the car silently and Gabriella just stood there with her arms crossed.

"Listen, Gabriella," he started but she held up her hand.

"Don't, I don't even want to hear any of your guys excuses," she shook her head. "Just give me the keys and we'll be out of here."

"Give you the keys? It's my car!" Taylor stated.

"Yeah, but I don't want to be tricked into stopping in Los Angeles," Gabriella retorted.

"Why the hell would we stop there?" Taylor asked her.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe so you can see Zeke?" Gabriella said, crossing her arms.

"What the hell is she talking about, Taylor?" Chad demanded, looking at Taylor.

"I don't know what the fuck she's talking about," Taylor snapped.

"You told me you and Zeke dated for like two days in ninth grade," Gabriella stated. "And I figured that you must have something on the side with him, too. I mean-"

"All I did with Zeke was hold his sweaty hand at a stupid dance and you know it, Gabriella," Taylor snapped. She turned to Chad, who was staring at the ground. "I swear to God, Chad. Zeke and I didn't do anything, _ever_. Hell, I only went to the dance with him because _you_ didn't ask me."

"Really?" Chad asked, looking up and meeting her eyes.

"Yeah," Taylor nodded. "I thought you were hot back then, but you weren't into me."

"Freshman mistake," Chad smiled. "Maybe you should let Gabriella drive though, just in case."

"Alright," Taylor rolled her eyes. "But if she wrecks my c-" Chad cut her off by pulling her into his arms and kissing her like there was no tomorrow.

"Okay, you two, break it up," Greer called from her spot next to Gabriella. "We're getting a little sick over here."

Pulling away, Taylor wiped the smudged lipstick of Chad's lips then headed for the car, only to squeal when he smacked her ass. She turned and winked at him. "I'll call ya later," she promised then got into the passenger seat with Gabriella in the drivers'.

Chad waved to them as they drove away and pretended to catch the kiss Taylor blew to him. He couldn't help but think that their relationship had taken a turn for the better in the few hours he and Taylor got to spend together. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he was crossing his fingers that there was a chance that he and Taylor could get back together.

"Well that was grotesque," Greer muttered after the girls had driven away.

"Shut up," Chad shook his head. "I really don't want to tell you again that bitchy doesn't work for you."

"Yeah, well you better you have enough money in your bank account to take me out to dinner," Greer stated. "Because you owe me and I could totally go for a juicy steak at the steak house."

"Well your steak will have to wait until my mom sends me more money," Chad told her. "I spent almost all of my money on the hotel room."

"Wait, she made you pay for the hotel room?" Greer said. "When it was her that was visiting you?"

"Yeah, so?" He asked.

"My god, she so doesn't deserve you," Greer muttered.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Chad demanded. Hadn't she seen the way Taylor had acted around in just a few minutes ago? Making sure he knew that nothing had ever happened between her and his friend Zeke or when she kissed him back or-

Greer shook her head. "If you can't see it then I'm not going to tell you," she told him, cutting his thoughts off. "But she isn't good enough for you."

Chad's mind reeled about what the hell that was supposed to mean. How could she say such a thing to him and not back up her claim with proof. So he did the thing any guy would do in the situation, opened his mouth before he had a chance to think.

"Yeah, well, I guess Owen figured out that you weren't good enough from him pretty quickly, didn't he," Chad called after her and instantly regretted it when he saw her face fall. "Greer, I'm-"

But it was too late; she was already in her car and half way out of the parking lot.

Chad sighed and climbed the stairs to his floor. He unlocked his door and went inside. He felt like shit for what he'd said to Greer, it was totally inappropriate and uncalled for not to mention way over the line.

Since Troy wasn't in the room, Chad changed into a clean pair of clothes and was sitting down at his computer when Troy walked into the room freshly showered.

Troy paused in the doorway, trying to read Chad's facial expression to see if he was mad that he'd told Gabriella.

"I can't believe you told Gabriella," Chad stated. "Taylor had a bitch fit."

"At least I called and gave you a heads up," Troy paused. "I did call you, right, or was I dreaming?"

"You called," Chad said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. He went to Troy's voicemail message and put the phone on speakerphone. He and Troy didn't get through the message before they were cracking up.

"Dude! I so didn't sound like that off the phone!" Troy said, shaking his head.

"Well I'd ask Piper, but I'm pretty sure she was drunk too," Chad stated. "And speaking of Piper, I heard you spent the night at her house."

Troy blushed and looked at the ground.

"Dude, did you score?" Chad asked his friend. Troy nodded. "Dude!! We got laid last night!"

Troy grinned and they did their corny handshake they'd created in fifth grade.


	12. Chapter 12

Cate here with our latest update! Thanks so much to caliciara and yellow-queen for commenting on the last chapter! We appreciate it so very much! I hope you guys enjoy this latest addition to the story! :)

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Troy found himself walking across campus for the fifth time already that day. He'd been back and forth several times for class, once for practice, and now at nine at night, he was finally on his way back to his dorm for the night after being beckoned by Piper for a quickie. His leg muscles throbbed and he wasn't sure if it was more from the running or from the sex, though he had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter. If only Coach knew that he was basically getting twice the workout every day, maybe he'd start to get some preferential treatment. That or he'd get murdered for repeatedly violating a girl who was like a daughter to Coach Carver. As he attempted to make his way up the stairs, he almost started to think that death would be a preferable option to the pain he would likely be in for the next few days.

He fished his keys out of his pocket and opened the door quickly, shoving it open with his foot to find the room before him already pitch black. Sighing, he dropped his backpack onto the floor, not even bothering trying to be quiet. If Chad wanted to go to bed at a ridiculously early hour, that was fine, but Troy was damned if he was going to tiptoe around when he had stuff to do. He turned on his desk lamp and started to fish around in his dresser for a clean pair of shorts and a t-shirt to change into after the shower he was desperately needing.

"How was practice?" Chad asked from his bed. Troy jumped, shocked at the sound.

"Shit. You scared me! I thought you were sleeping," Troy said, deciding on some clothes before shutting the drawer.

"Uh, nope, not sleeping," Chad said, and Troy noticed for the first time that Chad was laying perfectly still, facing the wall, with the covers pulled up to his chin.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked, taking a step towards Chad's bed.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine. Just go take a shower, man. You reek," Chad said, laughing nervously. It was then that Troy noticed that the box of Kleenex was missing from its typical place next to their TV and also that the cord to Chad's phone charger was pulled tight from its place in the outlet up to Chad's pillow. Troy made no efforts to mask his disgust as his exhausted brain finally put the pieces together.

"Are you having fucking phone sex?" Troy groaned.

"Sorry, _some_ of us aren't getting laid on a regular basis," Chad spat.

"Put the rubber band on the doorknob next time. Fuck…" Troy muttered, grabbing his shower stuff and storming out of the room. He was halfway to the bathroom when he heard a door behind him open.

"Where have you been?" he heard the person behind him ask. The voice was recognizable immediately and he took a deep breath before turning around to face Braeden.

"Long practice," Troy lied.

"Really long," Braeden commented, "Well, go take a shower, you fucking smell." He then gave him a big grin before going back into his room. Troy was too tired to decide whether or not to lapse into the debate that had been inhabiting his mind lately. Braeden had been a little weird for the last few weeks, even though Braeden was _always_ kind of weird. Troy couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he'd felt especially on edge around Braeden ever since he and Piper had started sleeping together a few weeks prior. It wasn't that Braeden was saying anything out of the ordinary, it was more the way he kept looking at Troy like he was going to ruin his life, but do it slowly. Troy wondered briefly if maybe Braeden's plan was to drive Troy insane for having sex with his big sister. But, as he felt the beginnings of a migraine start to throb right behind his eyes, he banished all thoughts of the Scott family from his thoughts and instead focused on finishing his shower.

Once he had sufficiently washed the copious amount of dried sweat from his skin, he toweled off, changed into the clean clothes he'd grabbed and then headed back for his room, hoping that Chad was finished jerking off so he could just go to sleep. After a hesitant, yet appropriately loud, knock, Chad shouted out that it was okay for Troy to come in.

"Sorry about that," Chad mumbled, now sitting at his computer desk.

"Yeah, whatever," Troy sighed, hooking his shower bag and towel on their hooks on the back of his closet door before climbing into bed.

The next afternoon, Troy was trying to get his homework done as fast as possible when Chad, Kevin, and Braeden all barged in armed with grocery bags.

"We decided that we're in desperate need of a feast," Kevin told him, dropping one of the bags down in front of Troy, effectively breaking him from his concentration on the notebook resting on the floor before him.

"A feast?" Troy questioned, peeking inside of the bag to see an array of chips and candy.

"Oh yeah. The food was just calling to us," Chad said, "I got your bananas and Gatorade, so don't freak out." Troy wanted to tell him to shove the Gatorade directly up his ass, but got distracted by the bag of Reece's Peanut Butter Cups he saw in Braeden's bag. He snatched it from Braeden's grasp and tore the bag open, unable to control himself in such close proximity to his favorite candy.

"Spaz out much?" Braeden asked, "You could have just said you wanted one."

"I have no self-control," Troy shrugged, unwrapping his second cup.

"Obviously," Braeden said under his breath. Troy felt his stomach drop at Braeden's comment, again wondering if he knew about Troy's relationship, whatever it was, with Piper. Troy reluctantly sat the bag back in the middle of the semicircle they'd formed in front of the TV, as to not hog the rest of the bag's contents. They chatted, talked about classes, and ate most of the food they'd purchased while watching ESPN. When Troy's phone started to vibrate in his pocket, he looked at the clock and was shocked to see that it was already after 7. His heart immediately started racing since he had been instructed to meet Piper at 7 at her apartment. He wouldn't have had to look at his phone to know that he had a text message from Piper wondering where the hell he was, but he did so anyway. The words in the text message sent a chill through him before making his adrenaline start pumping furiously through his veins. Without a word to the other three occupants of the room, Troy bolted out of the room and started running full speed out of the dorm and across campus. Piper's text message had been incredibly direct and Troy didn't doubt her threat at all.

Back in the dorm, Chad, Kevin, and Braeden just sat looking at each other.

"Jesus, he just ran out of here like his dick was on fire," Braeden laughed, "What's his deal?"

"Who knows, maybe he forgot he had a run or something," Chad lied, not knowing exactly where Troy had gone, but assuming it had something to do with Piper. He didn't care too much about covering up for Troy since he'd gone and blabbed to Gabriella about himself and Taylor, but he also knew that Braeden finding out about Piper and Troy would be significantly different. And that it might involve Troy getting punched or something.

Troy walked right into Greer and Piper's apartment and headed up the stairs, waving quickly to Greer who was doing her homework in the living room before turning the corner. He found Piper in her room and he stopped short at the threshold. She was sitting on the edge of her bed already stripped down to her bra and panties holding a stopwatch.

"You actually made it. I _would_ be impressed if I wasn't so pissed off that you're late," she said, setting the watch on her bedside table.

"I'm so sorry!" Troy said. He knew better than to try to give her an excuse. "But your text definitely got me moving."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, watching as he toed the door shut and pulled his shirt over his head.

"Well, it's not every day that someone says," he paused as he pulled his cell out of his pocket and opened the message, "_If you're not inside of me in five minutes, this is all over_ to me." She laughed.

"Well, I'd certainly hope not," she said, reaching forward with one hand to grab his belt buckle and pull him closer while the other hand blindly groped for the stopwatch. "It's been four minutes and thirty seconds, so you'd better get to it."

"Yes ma'am," Troy grinned.

About twenty minutes after Troy's rapid departure, Kevin and Braeden had left to do their homework and just as Chad was about to get settled in on his bed to watch a movie, he heard a light knock on the door. After telling the person they could come in, he saw Greer's head peek around the door before coming fully into the room.

"Mind if I hang out in here for awhile?" she asked hesitantly, "I was going to go see Owen, but he's not in his room."

"Yeah, it's fine," Chad said, sitting up. He was honestly surprised that Greer would even consider coming to see him since their last encounter had been less than pleasant. "Look, I'm sorry for being kind of a jerk when Taylor and Gabriella left."

"I'd say you were less of a jerk and more of a clueless sucker," she retorted.

"Whatever I was, I'm sorry for it," he said honestly. Even though he didn't agree with Greer's opinions of his relationship with Taylor, especially since she knew very little about it and how complex it was, he knew that he wanted Greer as a friend. And if apologizing for speaking to her harshly was what was necessary, he was more than willing to do it in order to make amends. She didn't answer, she just nodded and sat down on the edge of Troy's bed. They sat there without speaking for a few moments, only the sounds from the TV filling the awkward space between them.

"So, what brings you over here to the dorms?" he asked, finally breaking the ice.

"I was escaping. Troy came running in the apartment and a few minutes later I heard a lot of grunting," she paused, "And most of it was too high pitched to be Piper." Chad laughed out loud and Greer found herself doing the same. Once their laughter had died down, Chad felt himself relax. Maybe the damage he'd done to their friendship wouldn't be permanent after all.

Two days later, Troy was laying on his bed, his fingers laced through Piper's hair as she gave him what he had immediately deemed as the best blowjob he'd ever gotten. He honestly didn't know how he could even have the energy left in his body to do _anything_, let alone have the sex he knew was coming in a few minutes, but somehow, Piper's insistence and enthusiasm for their encounters provided him with all the energy boost he needed.

"You doing okay?" she asked as she snaked her way up his body.

"No, I'm awful," he smiled, smoothing down the hair he'd mussed and kissing her lightly. She smacked his chest. "Oww!"

"Oh you poor baby," she rolled her eyes, placing a kiss to the place she'd just hit and pulling open his dresser to find a condom. Once she had, Troy pushed her until she reluctantly fell off of his body so he could climb on top of her. He let his weight settled down onto her, loving the feeling of her entire naked body pressed against his. Piper ran her feet up the backs of his legs until she let the soles her of her feet press into the back of his thighs. "Come on, stop teasing me." Her lips were right against his ear as she whispered the words, and Troy wasted no time in rocking his hips forward until he was buried fully inside of Piper. Troy had barely gotten three thrusts in when a loud thump sounded off to their left. They immediately stilled their movements and looked over to see Hetta pushing herself into a standing position next to the now open window.

"What the fuck?" Troy asked no on in particular, wanting an answer far more than caring who gave it to him.

"Just needed to get in. Thanks!" she said before going to the door and leaving, seemingly undeterred by the very naked sex that was happening right in front of her.

"Crazy bitch," Piper muttered, "Has she done this before?"

"Never!" Troy said in disbelief.

"Yeah, well, you'd better start locking that window," Piper sighed, waiting a minute before speaking again, "Well, what are you waiting for? Get back to it, Pampers!" Troy sighed and leaned down to silence her the only way he knew how.


	13. Chapter 13

Wow... I totally did not realize it had been nearly a month since we last updated... whoops... But summer has finally started for me, though I only have a week of break before I have to take a six-week summer class... anyway... here's the next chapter in Troy and Chad's UofA adventure :-D Thanks to Yellow-queen18 and caliciara for reviewing the chapter. xoxo Ally (p.s. I'm planning on posting a new solo story today and hopefully updating Against the Odds... so be on the look out!)

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**Chapter 13**

Chad tried to remain cool as he sat on the bench with his teammates as Coach Scott talked, but the feeling of his phone vibrating in his back pocket was beginning to annoy him and he wished the person would just stop calling.

"With that said, I am proud of you boys for the way you've practiced during our short fall practices," Coach Scott said. "But just because we can't have official practices does not mean you guys can sit on your butts and play videogames."

"What about baseball videogames?" One of Chad's teammates asked. "Like on the Wii."

"If you want to practice your batting I want you to go to the batting cages," Coach Scott stated. "And before you say you can't afford it, let me remind you that they offer discounts to U of A athletes. Does that answer your question, Mac?" The boy nodded. "Good. Now I want to see you guys in the weight room, on the track, and when I'm at the batting cages helping kids I want to see your names on the check in sheet. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes coach," they echoed.

"Awesome," Coach Scott smiled. "Everybody fall-in." Chad and his teammates stood up and put their hands in the center. "We're going to try a new chant this year boys, one that was started by our very own Chad Danforth."

"Wh- what?" Chad stared at the coach in shock.

"That get'cha head in the game one," Coach Scott replied. "The one your high school teams did."

"Okay," Chad said. "I say 'What team?' you guys echo 'Wildcats,' we do that three times then finish with me saying 'Wildcats' and you guys echo with 'get'cha head in the game,' got it?" He looked around the circle and saw his teammates nod.

"Go for it," Coach Scott smiled.

Chad was hesitant at first as he led his new teammates through the chant, but with each pass they grew stronger. It felt strange to be doing the chant with a bunch of guys he'd known for less than two months, but Coach Scott was right-Chad had been the one to come up with the chant in the first place.

After gathering his stuff, Chad felt a little guilty about using the chant that had meant so much to him and his friends in high school. He wondered what Troy would have to say about it if he told him…

Feeling his phone start to vibrate again, Chad pulled it out of his back pocket and smiled when he saw a picture of his mom. He flipped it open and said, "Hey mom."

"Hey C-Bear," she replied. "Where ya been? I've been trying to call for an hour."

"Last baseball practice," Chad replied. "What's up?"

"Well I figured I should call since you've forgotten our phone number," she said and he knew she was smiling. "After all, it's been nearly two weeks since I talked to you last and even then that was after I called you and left a message."

"I've been busy mom," Chad replied. "With practice and school stuff."

"Yet you're not too busy to talk to Taylor for at least two hours every day?" His mom said, in that motherly tone. "If I were to judge how much time you're studying and practicing by how much you're talking to Taylor, I'd say it isn't much."

"We're just trying to stay connected," Chad replied. "We live like 13 hours away from each other, mom. It's hard."

"I know it is, sweetie, but our phone bill was over five hundred dollars this month," she told him. "And unless you want to get a job to help pay for it, we can't afford a bill that high. Not on Paul's salary and definitely not since I'm going to part-time at the bank now that school's back in session and he can't stay home with Sabra."

"I'll cut back on my talk time with Taylor," Chad promised.

"Thanks, C-Bear," his mom replied. "I need to go pick up your sister from her ballet class so I'll talk to you later. Love you."

"Love you, too, mom," Chad replied then closed his phone.

"Well wasn't that adorable," a voice behind him said.

Chad sighed and turned around to see Piper and Greer behind him.

"You and Troy are just too cute with your phone calls with your mommies," Piper said, pinching his cheek. "But, fyi, if I were you, I wouldn't go to my dorm tomorrow night until-say 11ish?" She patted his cheek then walked away-headed for his and Troy's dorm building.

"God she's annoying," Chad muttered.

"And you reek," Greer said, holding her nose. "And as long as you've showered, you can hang out at my place tomorrow night."

"I just got done with practice, so get off my back," Chad replied.

"Yeah, well I dunno if you realized this yet, but Piper is headed for your dorm and if you don't beat her there, you'll find yourself locked out of your room in need of a shower and clean clothes," Greer pointed out.

"Fuck," Chad groaned before he started running towards the dorm with Greer following at a distance. Reaching the room, Chad whimpered as he held his side when he saw the rubber band around the door handle. "Stupid Troy."

"Come on, stinky, let's go get some dinner," Greer said, finding him in the hall. "We'll find a table outside."

"Just let me put my stuff in Braeden's room," he replied. He knocked on the door talked to Braeden for a couple seconds before handing over his baseball stuff. "Thanks man." Then he turned and walked to the caf with Greer.

Fifteen minutes after they left, Hetta exited Troy and Chad's room straightening her short black skirt. She was impressed at how good she looked after climbing throw the window and was sure it was because she'd spent so much time the summer before rock climbing at the rock wall were Braeden had worked.

She smoothed her blonde hair then knocked twice on Braeden's door.

"Hey du-" Braeden stopped when he saw Hetta standing there. "You're not supposed to be here, Hetta."

"I wanted to see you," she shrugged, smiling extra wide to show off her perfect teeth. "I even climbed the-"

"Braeden, who's at the door?" She frowned when she heard a female voice ask from his room.

"Nobody," he replied. "I'm going to step out in the hall for a minute." He stepped out and closed the door. "Hetta, you have to stop coming here."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Hetta asked, blinking back her tears.

"No, not that it's any of your business," Braeden replied. "And if you keep waltzing over here uninvited she might never be." He ran his hand through his short hair. "Tell me how I'm supposed to make it clear to you that we will _never_ be a couple."

"Never is a long time, Braeden," Hetta stated.

"Hetta, I will never see you as anything but a little sister," Braeden told her. "I care about you, but not the way you want me to. You have to let go of this obsession you have and move on. There will never be an _us_ between you and me."

"But Braeden-"

"Just go home, Hetta, and don't come back to the dorms until you're living in them," Braeden said before going into his room.

Broken hearted, Hetta sank to floor between Braeden and Troy's rooms and started to cry.

Coming out of his room with Chris, Eric paused when he saw Hetta crying. Everybody on their floor knew that Hetta was essentially Braeden's stalker.

"You coming, Eric?" Chris asked.

"I'll catch up with you," Eric replied. He was wanted to get even with Braeden for choking him. He waited for Chris to leave before he approached Hetta. "Hey, everything okay?"

She looked up at him with mascara running down her face.

"I'm Eric," he said, holding his hand out to help her up. "You're Braeden's friend, right?"

"Not according to him," Hetta sniffed.

"Well he's an idiot then," Eric replied, turning on the charm. "Guys like him, they'd can't see what's right in front of them. But I'm different."

"You are?" Hetta asked.

"Yeah, because I look at you and can't help but think that Braeden is an idiot for not wanting to be friends with you," Eric said. "You're beautiful."

"No I'm not," Hetta said, wiping her face with her hands. "I have mascara all over my face and -"

"It only enhances your beauty," Eric smiled and Hetta rolled her eyes. "Let me buy you dinner?"

Hetta glanced at Braeden's door before she looked at Eric and nodded.

"Excellent, let's go," he said and led her away thinking that this was way too easy.

When Chad got back from dinner, he found the rubber band gone and the room empty-save for a note from Troy saying he'd be back at 10. Chad looked at his alarm clock and saw he had two hours to do what ever he wanted.

With one thing in mind, Chad pulled out his cell phone and called Taylor.

"Hey hot stuff," she answered after the second ring. "How's it hanging?"

"I'll tell you as soon as you tell me how the weather is," Chad said all the while hoping she'd say it was good. He and Taylor had come up with the signal to find out if somebody was in the room without the other people in the room figuring it out. Hence if she said the weather was good that meant she was alone and they could have phone sex, but if she said the weather was bad that meant somebody-most likely Gabriella-was in the room with her.

"It's not good here," Taylor replied.

"Damn," Chad muttered.

"I'm sorry," Taylor told him. "I really wish it was sunny here, believe me."

"I know," Chad replied. "I guess I'll go hit the showers then."

"You don't want to talk to me?" She sounded hurt.

"I do, but I talked to my mom today and I promised I'd cut back on the phone calls," he told her. "And I figure there are some things we can email each other about and other things that we can't."

"Mmm, so true," Taylor nodded. "Wank it hard for me."

"Always do," Chad grinned as he heard Gabriella tell Taylor she was disgusting. "I'll call you soon."

The next evening, Chad met Greer in front of the student union after her last class.

"Nice shirt," she said looking at his baby blue shirt that had "I'm Kind Of A Big Deal" written across the chest.

"Thanks," he smiled. "My friend Jason got it for me for my last birthday; I had this thing in high school where I wore shirts with bizarre pictures or sayings on them."

"Like your piñata one?" Greer said as they walked towards her and Piper's place.

"Yeah, my mom hates that one," Chad laughed. "Her least favorite shirt of mine though is one that says 'New Mexico: Cleaner Than Real Mexico,' she's tried to throw it out before, but thankfully my stepdad thinks it a funny shirt and he saved it."

"I've never been to New Mexico, but I'm going to go ahead and give you the benefit of the doubt," Greer replied. "Because I've been to Mexico and there are some really dirty, but fun, bars down there."

"I bet they weren't dirty before Piper got there," Chad stated.

"Maybe the first time we went," Greer smiled as she pulled out her keys as they neared her and Piper's apartment complex. "But I assure you, there were people there that were worse than she is."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Chad stated as he followed her up the stairs to the apartment then waited as she unlocked the door.

"Well here it is," Greer said, walking into the apartment.

"It's very white, though your blue couches are cool," Chad said, looking around the apartment. "And kinda sparse."

"We've only lived up here for a few months," Greer replied as she kicked off her shoes. "We were in a downstairs apartment and when this one opened up we took it."

"Aren't you going to offer me a tour?" Chad asked as he followed her into the kitchen and watched as she pulled two bottles of water out of the fridge.

"There isn't much to see, Chad," she replied.

"Yeah, but it would be the polite thing," he shrugged. "And you're always getting on my case about my manners, so unless you want me to think of you as a hypocrite -"

"Shut up already," Greer shook her head. "I'll give you a damn tour."

Chad grinned as he followed her through the door on their left.

"This is my room," she told him. "And the door right there is to my bathroom."

"I'm surprised Piper let you have the master bathroom," Chad said as he looked around the room. "I thought for sure she'd -"

"Chad, she isn't as bad as you make her out to be," Greer shook her head. He looked at her unconvinced. "I'm serious. I know she comes off bitchy at times, but when you get to know her she's one of the best friends you could ever have."

"If you say so," Chad replied as he followed her out of the room. They went up the stairs and she pointed out Piper's rooms. "She has two rooms?"

"Yeah, she sleeps in one and the other she uses as a dark room and other camera stuff," Greer stated. "And that-" she pointed to a black curtain like thing against the wall. "-is what she uses for the backdrop of her pictures."

"I didn't know she took pictures," Chad commented. "Is she any good?"

"She's a photography minor," Greer replied. "I have some pictures that she's taken of me downstairs."

"Can I see them?" He asked her.

"Yeah, except for the naked ones," Greer laughed out loud when Chad looked at her wide eyed. "I'm kidding, Chad. There are no naked pictures of me."

"Damn," he said as a smile crossed his face.

Greer rolled her eyes and led him back down stairs. She grabbed a photo album off a shelf and sat down next to him on the couch. "Piper has been taking pictures for as long as I can remember," she told him. "It's definitely something she got from her mom."

"Is that your mom?" Chad asked, pointing to a picture of a dark haired woman standing next to who he recognized as Piper's mom.

"Yeah," Greer nodded. "That was taken about two months before she died. We were visiting from San Diego where my dad was a PE teacher at a middle school." She smiled. "Our moms were college roommates and our dads were as well. It's funny actually, because my dad starting off dating her mom and her dad was dating my mom.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but my parents got together and her parents got together. And I guess everything else is history now, but after my mom died in the car accident, my dad didn't want to stay in San Diego, all of our family was here. So he bought the house next to the Scotts' and we've been there ever since."

"So you and Piper go way back like me and Troy," Chad smiled. "Isn't it great having a friend that you literally known forever?"

"Well Piper and I have known each other since before you and Troy were even twinkles in your parents' eyes," Greer stated.

"You guys only have a few years on us," Chad shrugged.

"Are you calling me old?" Greer asked in mock horror.

"No! That's not what I, uh- shit," Chad muttered.

"I know," Greer laughed. "See that's why Piper likes to pick on you and Troy, you guys are so easy -"

"Troy's the easy one!" Chad exclaimed. "I'm-"

"I was going to say easy annoyed," Greer cut him off. "But you're right, of our relationships; Troy and Piper are the easy ones."

"Oh," Chad said, slightly flustered.

"Speaking of Troy and Piper, they'll be here tomorrow night so it'd be a great night for you to take me out for that steak dinner you owe me," Piper stated. "Assuming of course that mommy sent you more money."

"I have money," Chad rolled his eyes. "I'm bored, entertain me."

"We can watch a movie," Piper suggested.

They watched a movie then ordered a pizza when it ended. Then while they ate their pizza they watched a second movie which ended around 10:30.

"Well I guess I'll head back to the dorms," Chad said as he stood up. "Thanks for letting me -" he stopped when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw Troy's face. "Hello?"

"Hey, don't come back here tonight," Troy told him.

"What? Why not?" Chad asked him.

"Piper is staying the night here," Troy stated. "Braeden and Owen are having a soccer game in the hall and we'll be found out if Braeden sees Piper exit the room."

"So where am I supposed to stay?" Chad asked, causing Greer to look at him confused.

"You can sleep in her room," Troy told him. Chad heard Piper say something in the background before Troy said, "Piper says there are clean sheets in the closet."

"Did you ever think -"

"Thanks man," Troy cut him off before hanging up.

"Fuckin' asshole," Chad muttered as he hung up his phone. "Looks like you're stuck with me tonight."

"What's going on?" Greer asked him.

"Piper can't leave because Braeden is playing soccer in the hall with Owen," Chad replied. "So that means I have to stay here."

"You can't stay here," Greer said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Well that's too damn bad, because I am," Chad replied before he headed for her room.

"Where are you going?!" Greer exclaimed as she got off the couch and followed him. "Chad Danforth you are not sleeping in my bed!"

"But think of the lesson in hospitality that I would learn from it," Chad smirked before he jumped onto her bed face first.

"You'll have to learn that lesson somewhere else, buddy, because I'm not giving up my bed," Greer stated.

"But Greer," Chad whined.

"You're not sleeping in here and that's final, Chad," Greer said. "You can either sleep on the couch or you can sleep in Piper's bed."

"Fine, I'll sleep on the couch," Chad stated as he slowly sat up. "I just hope it doesn't hurt my surgically repaired knee."

"Oh cut the bull shit, Chad," Greer laughed. "I know you didn't have your knee repaired, hell I know that the only injury you've ever had was a pulled groin muscle last baseball season."

"Should I be turned on that you know what happened to my groin last season?" Chad asked with a grin as she dug through a closet.

"Just go sleep on the couch," Greer rolled her eyes and shoved blankets into his arms.

"You sure, cause I can stay in here and - " Chad didn't get to finish as she closed the door in his face. "How rude."

"Good night, Chad," Greer called as she slipped the lock on her door into place.

Chad sighed and made his way back to the couch. He stretched out and pulled a blanket over his body. Troy was going to pay for this, Chad wasn't sure when or how, but he would.


	14. Chapter 14

Hello all! Cate here! Ally and I are working on this story a lot right now, so hopefully there will be more frequent updates for you guys. Please let us know what you think! Things are really starting to heat up plot-wise and we're dying to know what you all think! Thanks so much to Yellow-Queen for reviewing the last chapter!

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Hetta breezed down the guys' hallway, a confident smile on her face. Braeden emerged from his room only to freeze in place at the sight of her walking past in a ridiculously short red dress.

"Hetta, what are you doing here?" he asked. She looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not here to see you, so just calm down," she told him. He stood there in the doorway and watched as she knocked on Eric and Chris' door. Eric answered a few seconds later, obviously ogling Hetta. Braeden felt his hands ball into fists as he watched Eric give Hetta a little hug and while his head was over his shoulder, give a little pretentious wink in Braeden's direction. He tried his hardest to keep his mouth shut, but as he saw Eric's hand slide down to rest far too low on her back as they walked by, he couldn't control himself.

"What the hell are you trying to prove, man?" he asked. Eric stopped their walk down the hallway and sighed loudly before turning to face Braeden.

"What are you talking about?"

"She's still in high school! Braeden said, "Don't mess with her just because I pissed you off."

"Don't pretend like you care about her or her feelings! You're the one who left her out in the hallway crying the other day," Eric said, trying so hard to sound like a good, caring guy, Braeden had to try not to outwardly gag. Hetta slid her hand into Eric's and started to pull him back down the hall.

"Let's go, Eric, we're going to miss our reservation," she said, refusing to meet Braeden's eyes with her own the entire time. When her back was turned, Eric gave Braeden the finger and then started to follow her.

"What's going on?" Savy asked as she stepped out into the hall to join Braeden.

"Fucking Eric is going out on a date with Hetta. That guy is such a douche," Braeden sighed.

"Well, there's not much you can do about it right now, so just come finish the movie," she said, smoothing her hand over his chest before pulling him into the room. He smiled at her and followed her inside, amazed at how fast she could take away his bad moods.

Troy sat uncomfortably at a table in the cafeteria with Chad, Greer, Piper, and Braeden the next afternoon. If only Braeden hadn't been there, Troy knew he would have felt less tense, but since Piper's brother was the only one at the table who didn't know about their frequent trysts, the tension remained.

"Piper, you look stressed. What's up?" Braeden asked, poking her in the arm with the blunt end of his fork.

"I have this massive photo project that's due by the end of the week and I don't know what to do about it," she sighed, slamming the notebook in front of her shut.

"What do you have to do for it?" Greer asked with concern.

"I have to do a black and white photoshoot of a subject I've never shot before," she said, "And you guys know me, I've taken pictures of _everything_."

"You could take pictures of Chad, he owes me," Braeden said and when Chad shot him a questioning look he replied with, "You took my bear, dillhole!"

"After you took my rabbit!"

"That was because you sent Hetta into my room!"

"Only because you stole my clothes in the bathroom," Chad said definitively, crossing his arms over his chest. Braeden sat there, trying desperately and obviously to come up with a retort.

"Well fuck," he muttered, giving up, "I guess Chad _doesn't_ owe me a favor."

"In fact, I think _you_ owe _me_ one," Chad laughed, "And besides, I hate getting my picture taken." Braeden swore again and dug back into his lunch.

"You guys are no help at all," Piper groaned, "I can't take pictures of campus, or our apartment, or basically any inanimate object. I'm so screwed!"

"Why don't you take pictures of Troy," Braeden suggested.

"And break my camera? No thanks," Piper sassed. Troy rolled his eyes.

"Fine then, get an F, see if I care," Braeden spat back, "I just know that he's free tonight. I saw Jeremy earlier and he said practice was cancelled."

"It is?" Troy asked, suddenly feeling very excited. He hadn't had a night off in weeks.

"Well then, I'm sure he'll want to get in a work-out tonight. Wouldn't have time to help me out," Piper said, her double connotations not lost on Troy.

"I think I could probably fit it in," he replied.

"Well there you go. You can thank me later when you get an A," Braeden said.

"What makes you think I'll get an A?" Piper asked.

"Just look how pretty he is," Braeden teased, reaching across the table and grabbing Troy's face in his hands, smooshing his cheeks against his nose. Troy smacked his hands away.

"Shove it, Braeden," Troy said, tucking in to his food in order to avoid more awkward conversation and to mask the smile covering his face. If only Braeden knew what he had just done, and what would likely take place before, during, or after the photoshoot.

Troy did as instructed and wore a pair of worn blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt over to Piper and Greer's apartment. He couldn't help but feel nervous. His senior picture session had been strange and his parents had been right there in the room. He knew that working with Piper would be much more intimate and stressful since he knew that she had a grade riding on his performance as much as hers. And contrary to what Braeden thought, he did _not_ consider himself "pretty" by any means.

Greer answered the door with her purse over her shoulder.

"Perfect timing, I was just leaving. Chad owes me dinner," she told Troy.

"Make sure you order the most expensive thing on the menu," Troy encouraged, patting Greer on the shoulder as he walked by.

"Troy, make sure you and Piper actually get something done. This _is_ a really important project." Troy swallowed hard, his nerves multiplying instantly.

"Of course," Troy laughed nervously before heading into the house. He found Piper sitting in the kitchen drinking some coffee and flipping through a magazine.

"You look good," she smiled, "And you were very obedient. Me likey."

"I know this is an important project and I want to help," he told her, sitting down on a stool next to her.

"Well, I wasn't completely forthright about the project," she admitted, closing the magazine and taking a prolonged sip of her coffee before continuing, "I mean, everything I told you guys was true, but that wasn't everything about it. It's supposed to be a sensual black and white photoshoot."

"You could have just asked me to begin with," Troy said, immediately offended that she hadn't.

"No, because, then when my little brother came to see the display of sensual photoshoots in the gallery, he might have freaked out just a tad," she said. Troy mouthed the word "oh" and felt his typical guilt start to settle in. "You want a drink to loosen you up?"

While Troy would have normally turned down a drink on a school night, he now knew that the photoshoot had to be sexy and he agreed. Piper retrieved a beer for both of them out of the fridge. Troy watched her as she talked him through the process they'd be undergoing, but he didn't hear much of it. She was dressed simply in a white tank top and some jean capris and her hair was hanging loose around her shoulders, something he didn't often see outside the bedroom.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, sounding only mildly annoyed. Troy immediately flushed at having been caught and sipped his beer.

"Nothing," he started, "You just look really pretty."

"You're getting all red, are you really drunk off half a beer?" she teased. He laughed despite himself and shook his head. "Well good, finish that up and then we should probably get started." She took a long sip of her beer before tossing it into their glass recycling bin and he did the same with his own before following her up to the second floor landing where her black backdrop was usually located. In its place was a white drop, which she explained to him that she was going to do half with the white backdrop and then put the black one back up for the second half.

"We'll do some with your shirt on, but then you're going to take it off, okay?" Troy gaped at her until she rolled her eyes and repeated herself.

"I _heard_ you, I just didn't know taking shirtless pictures was part of the deal."

"Well I told you that downstairs when you were staring at me like a creepass, so get over it!" she exclaimed, shoving him in the direction of the backdrop.

"What do I do now?" he asked, realizing immediately that he was whining, quite badly in fact.

"Stop making that face for starters," she told him, now holding an SLR digital camera, "Do you want me to put on some music so you can sway to it like the awkward white boy you are?" He glared at her and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Oh that's perfect! Don't move!" He froze in place, trying his hardest not to look awkward as he did so. Piper moved around him from different angles taking pictures quickly. The longer it went on, the more comfortable he got with moving without prompts from her. After about fifteen minutes, she stopped.

"Take your shirt off," she ordered, disappearing into her room only to emerge a few seconds later with a bottle of water in her free hand. "Can you kneel down on the ground for me? And pull your jeans down a bit, I want to see those hip bones." He sighed, suddenly feeling really self-conscious as she positioned him. And then without warning, she tipped the bottle of water upside down, its contents immediately spilling onto Troy's head and shoulders.

"What the fuck?" he exclaimed, looking down as the water continued to trail down, now sliding down his torso in cold trails. Before he heard the bottle collide with the carpeted floor, he heard Piper's camera click as she took a photo. A breath whooshed out from between her lips as she looked at the small screen on the back of the camera.

"Now _that's_ sensual," she whispered to herself, shaking her head to snap her thoughts back to the task at hand.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked, ruffling his hands through his hair and shaking away the excess moisture. Instead of responding, Piper simply continued to take picture after picture, capturing every one of his movements on her memory card.

"Just shut up and pose," she said, "And don't try to look too sexy because it needs to be sensual, not porno." Troy nodded and tried his hardest to move, kneeling on the floor, shirtless, covered in water, and not looking too sexy.

"I feel stupid, do I look stupid?" he asked after awhile.

"If you looked stupid I would have told you, don't worry," Piper smiled, "But I do want you to lay down on your back." Troy sighed, doing as told. "Put one hand behind your head, yeah, that's it." Piper took several pictures walking around him, but finally sighed and gave in, stepping so that her feet were alongside his knees.

"If you wanted to straddle me, you could have just said so," Troy grinned, only to hear her take another.

"I wouldn't ask and you know it," she said, dropping to a kneeling position above his legs. Troy realized suddenly that he was pretty turned on, something he'd assumed Piper would have mentioned. He did have to admit to himself that Piper had looked damned sexy being so serious and taking pictures. Even when she was ordering him around, he had liked it, though he supposed that wasn't something particularly new for them.

"So has this been entirely awful for you?" she asked, scooting forward so she could sit on his thighs.

"Awful? No. A little weird? Yes," he replied honestly, "But, I'm helping you out so I'm dealing. And, I still get to spend time with you tonight, so that works, too."

"That's really cute," she said, and Troy had expected to hear a condescending tone to her comment, but found none.

"I want you right now," he said, taking the reigns for once. She raised her eyebrows at him before snapping another photo.

"Very good, keep doing that." He sighed and grabbed her hips, pulling her forward until she was sitting on top of his erection.

"No, Piper. I want you right now." He took the camera from her hands and set it carefully off to the side before pulling her down to him by the shoulders.

"But Troy, my project-" she mumbled against his lips.

"Can wait." Piper tried to gain control and struggled against him for a few seconds, but when he roughly grabbed the bottom hem of her shirt and pulled it off, she gave in. Troy had never allowed himself to be like this with Piper, so forward and not letting her have an opinion in what they were doing. He moved his hands to the back hook of her bra while grinding himself up into her, eliciting a loud moan from her lips. When he almost had it unfastened, the sound of footsteps running up the stairs halted their movements.

"What the fuck!" Braeden exclaimed and when neither of them answered him, "WHAT THE FUCK!" Troy quickly and gently guided Piper off of him and both pulled their shirts back on.

"It's a, um… sensual photo shoot," Piper managed and if Troy hadn't been so freaked out about getting caught, he probably would have laughed a little at the idea of _her_ being unable to formulate a quick response to something.

"Yeah, I caught that," Braeden replied bitterly, "Not exactly what I was referring to, though."

"Look man, I don't know what to say," Troy said, standing and taking a step towards Braeden.

"Why didn't you guys tell me you were dating?" Braeden asked, and Troy realized that he now sounded hurt, not pissed off, "I was downstairs grabbing a soda and I heard part of what you guys were saying to each other before it got gross."

"Because we're not dating, Braeden," Piper sighed, as if the answer should have been obvious.

"But… then what the hell is going on?"

"We've just been… you know," Piper said, "Oh god, please don't make me say it to you."

"Fucking?" Braeden asked, turning to Troy, "You've been fucking my sister? For how long?"

"It's not like that, man," Troy lied.

"Oh yeah? Then how is it?" Braeden demanded. All three of them stood there in silence for a few seconds. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He turned and headed for the stairs.

"Braeden, come on! Don't just walk away," Troy shouted out.

"Why? So I can watch you violate my sister some more?" Braeden asked, "I can't fucking believe you, Troy." And with that, he ran down the stairs and slammed the front door shut on his way out.

"Shit," Troy muttered.

"I'm sorry about that. His temper sucks," she said, "I might be a bitch, but at least I don't fly off the handle like that."

"Well, I'm sure walking in on us making out and groping wasn't exactly what he was expecting."

"I just can't believe the little pervert was down there eavesdropping."

"Piper, I don't think it was like that-"

"Don't take his side because you feel bad, Troy. He'll get over it, I promise." Troy wanted to believe her, but when he remembered how severely Braeden had retaliated on Chad just for sending Hetta into his room, he shuddered inwardly at the thought of what the penalty would be for, as he had put it, violating his sister.


	15. Chapter 15

Okay let's just start off with we feel really guilty for not updating this story and the worst part is that this chapter was written at the beginning of July... oops? So with that said... I promise to post Chapter 16 in _three_ days for you guys to read. So please let us know what you think of this chapter. Thanks to Gorgeous Nick Stokes, princessoffndrknes06 and laxgirl14 for reviewing the last chapter!

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**Chapter 15**

Chad pulled up in front of Greer and Piper's apartment just as Greer was walking out her front door. He had to admit she looked good, dressed in a simple black dress, her hair hanging down and a pair of red polka dotted wedges on her feet.

As she neared the car, he leaned over and unlocked the door. As he leaned over, he looked out of his windshield and saw Troy's truck parked in the guest spot between Piper and Greer's parking spots and their neighbor's.

"Hey," he greeted as she climbed in.

"Hey," she said, smoothing her dress. "I doubt they'll get anything done tonight."

"I'm sure something will get i_done/i_, but I can't say that'll it'll be her assignment," Chad grinned as he put the car in drive. "So where are we going?"

"The steakhouse by the freeway entrance," Greer replied, she studied his outfit-dark wash jeans and a black t-shirt. "You brought a sports coat, right?"

"Yeah, it's in the back seat," Chad said. "And it's Troy's, so it might be a little tight."

It wasn't until they'd arrived at the restaurant that Greer saw the print on Chad's shirt-a tuxedo. She wasn't sure whether to laugh in amusement or cry in embarrassment.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked her. When she didn't answer he sighed, "You don't like my shirt, do you?" He rolled his eyes. "Typical."

"Hey, I didn't say I don't like it," Greer stated. "I don't know how I feel about it."

"Greer, you don't-"

"No, I'm serious," she replied. "It's suits you in a weird sort of way, no pun intended."

"See, you do get it," he smiled. "Taylor would have bitched me out for wearing it."

"Guess you're lucky that I'm not Taylor," Greer said. "Speaking of your gir-fuck buddy, how is she?"

"She's okay, I guess," Chad shrugged. "We don't talk much anymore since my mom told me to limit phone calls and when we do talk on the phone we don't really talk-"

"I get the picture," Greer cut him off as they entered the restaurant.

"Oh come on, Greer, you know you wanna know," Chad smirked.

"I have a good idea of what you two do, but I don't need to know if I'm right or wrong," she stated.

"You're just jealous," he teased. "Especially since Piper is always with Troy."

"I'm sure it's easier on me than it is on you," Greer stated. "You know 'cause there are things that I can use to simulate it, you just have to use your hand."

"You use-"

"Just because I said I i_can/i_ use them, doesn't mean I use them," Greer cut him off. "Pervert."

"Hey! You started it," Chad retorted.

Greer rolled her eyes and after giving her name to the hostess, she sat down with Chad to wait for their name to be called.

"So how much is this dinner gonna put me back?" Chad asked.

"Depends, how much money do you have?" Greer asked him. His jaw dropped. "Just kidding, Chad." She laughed. "I won't use more than fifteen dollars."

"You're mean," Chad pouted.

"Hey, you're the one that ditched your friend at the party," Greer said, standing up. "I'm going to the ladies room, hold my purse?" Chad made a face. "Chad, just hold it." She dropped it into his lap and walked away.

Chad groaned, girls were so uncool sometimes. He leaned back against the padded bench and dropped his eyes to the little black purse. Her phone was sticking out the side and an idea came to his mind. He glanced up to make sure she wasn't coming then he pulled her phone out and sent a quick text message to Braeden.

_iPiper needs help with lighting, I'm not home. Can you help?/i_

He was putting the phone away when he felt it vibrate. He glanced up to see if she was coming-she wasn't-so he flipped the phone open and read Braeden's reply.

_iOn my way./i_

With a smirk on his face, Chad deleted the message then slid the phone back into her purse. She arrived a few seconds later and he handed her the purse as the hostess called her name.

He followed the two women to the table then accepted the menu from the hostess.

"Your waitress tonight will be Jackie," the hostess informed them then walked away.

"So what's good here?" Chad asked Greer as he looked over the menu.

"Everything," she answered. "This is my dad's favorite restaurant."

After ordering-both of them getting hamburgers-Chad took a sip of his soda then felt his cell phone vibrate. "I'll be right back," he told Greer after looking at his phone and seeing Taylor's face. He stood and walked out to the lobby to answer his phone. "Hello?"

"What are you wearing?" Taylor asked.

"You're supposed to ask how the weather is," Chad informed her. "And then I'm supposed to say it's not good and won't be."

"I'd rather you say you're wearing nothing," Taylor stated. "What are you doing, any way?"

"I'm hanging out with some guys from school," he lied. He couldn't tell her he was with Greer, she'd get suspicious that something was happening even though nothing was. "They've been bugging me to hang out since I've been ignoring them."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll just go read a book or something," she said, sounding hurt. "Even though you get to see them i_every/i_ day and you haven't seen me in-"

"I've got to go," Chad cut her off. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"We'll see, I might be busy," she snapped before she hung up.

He rolled his eyes then headed back to the table. "Sorry about that," he said, sitting down. "My mom worries when I don't answer my phone."

"That's cute," Greer laughed.

Chad rolled his eyes.

"Seriously though Chad, you should consider yourself lucky that you have such a great relationship with your mom," Greer said, sincerely. "I miss my mom."

"You don't have a good relationship with your stepmom?"

"I dunno, I guess," Greer shrugged. "We've had our moments and I know she loves me and I love her, but sometimes I just wish I had my mom back." She took a sip of her drink. "You don't feel that way about your stepdad?"

"Not really," Chad replied. "He's the only dad I've ever known. My mom says my biological dad's parents sent him to military school after they found out my mom was pregnant and then they moved." He shrugged. "Then I had Troy's dad until my mom got married, but like you said, I know my stepdad loves me and I love him, too.

"It was a hard adjustment at first and there were times that I felt like I was an outsider looking in 'cause they had Sabra, but my stepdad made an effort to make sure I felt like I belonged. He took me and Troy to a basketball game in Utah."

They spent the rest of their meal talking about their favorite childhood memories, the trips they took as children and a dozen other random subjects. Chad even splurged and bought them a piece of cheesecake-their favorite dessert-to split, though Greer made no attempt to hide the fact that she was taking twice as many bites as him.

It was shortly after 10pm when Chad came to a stop in front of her apartment.

"I had fun tonight," Greer smiled.

"I did, too," Chad agreed. He glanced through his windshield and noticed Troy's truck was noticeably absent. "Looks like Troy's gone."

"Good," Greer laughed. "That means I won't have worry about him keeping me up with his screams."

Chad snickered.

"Night Chad," Greer said.

He waited for her to get into her apartment before he drove back to the dorms. He could feel the tension on the floor the second he entered. Owen was playing soccer with Cooper, Kevin and Steven and Troy and Braeden were nowhere to be seen. Chad greeted them all then went into his room and found Troy laying on his bed.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hi," Troy replied.

"What's up?" Chad asked as he took off his sports coat and dropped it on the floor.

"Braeden knows. He walked in on us."

"He walked in on you fucking his sister?"

"No, we hadn't gotten that far i_yet/i_ we were just making out and her shirt was on the ground…"

"So what happened?" The lack of bruises, cuts and overall injury to Troy made Chad think that if something had happened, it hadn't been physical.

"He just screamed and yelled," Troy replied. "He said he wasn't upset with finding out that Piper and I were having sex, just mad that I didn't have the balls to tell him what was going on."

"Well, in your defense, that would have been a really awkward conversation," Chad stated. "So what happened after that?"

"He took off and I left a little later," Troy shrugged. "I tried to talk to him, but Kevin said that he went to go stay with Savvy." He shook his head. "I just don't understand what he was doing there. I mean, he just showed up out of the blue."

"He probably just wanted to see if he could help," Chad shrugged. "'Cause he and Piper are close like that."

"Yeah, I guess," Troy replied.

They were silent for a few minutes as Chad toed off his shoes and changed out of his jeans into a pair of basketball shorts.

"You mind if I watch TV?" Chad asked.

"I don't care," Troy replied.

Chad sighed as he turned on the TV to Sports Center and sat down at his desk. He felt a tad bit guilty for lying to Troy, but at least everything was out in the open now and things could only go up hill from there, right?

A knock on the door pulled Chad's attention away from his thoughts and when it became apparent that Troy wasn't going to answer the door, he stood up and opened it.

"You have got to see this!" Kevin exclaimed. "You too, Troy. You guys won't believe this."

Chad followed Kevin out of the room and stopped in his tracks when he saw khaki pants, button down collared shirt, loafer and glasses wearing Spencer standing in the middle of the hall wearing tight blue jeans, a blue designer t-shirt, a pair of black All Stars and no glasses.

What made the scene stranger was that Vance was standing behind Spencer with a smile on his face while two girls Chad recognized as cheerleaders stood on either side of Spencer with their arms looped through his.

It was the arrival of an unexpected couple that stole Chad's attention from Spencer. His eyes narrowed as he watched Eric head towards his dorm room with his hand in the back pocket of Hetta's jeans. He looked over her shoulder and flashed a smile in Chad's direction.

"That's not good," Troy muttered from behind Chad.

Chad turned and he and his best friend shared a look, Hetta dating Eric was bad, very, very bad.


	16. Chapter 16

I know I promised to update this yesterday, but with the opening ceremonies of the olympics updating totally spaced my mind. But have no fear here's the next chapter! The next chapter will be posted as soon as Cate writes her chapter. Thanks to Gorgeous Nick Stokes for reviewing the last chapter :-D

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**Chapter 16**

Troy hadn't seen Piper in over a week and had only talked to her on the phone once. He didn't want to admit that he missed her, but he did. He actually missed her, and not just the sex. To be honest, he was way too busy with schoolwork and increasingly intense basketball practices to make adequate time to see her, but he knew that wasn't the only reason he hadn't. Piper hadn't come right out and said it, but he knew that she was trying to clear the air with her brother and he couldn't blame her. When he really thought about it, he realized that it must have been really weird for Braeden to even process the thought of his sister having sex with someone his own age. But as he walked gingerly home from Friday's practice, all he wanted was to take a shower and beg Piper to give him a massage. Their first game was the next weekend and Coach had made it plain that they were being expected to take good care of themselves during the next week and to just take it easy for the weekend. But as Troy walked into his and Chad's dorm and saw the Halloween costume hanging from his closet door, he knew that would not be happening.

There was a huge Halloween party happening that night and they were all going. Troy quickly swallowed two Advil in the hopes that it would quell off the pain coursing its way through his legs and headed for a quick shower. Chad would be back in the room with McDonald's soon, and then they were supposed to get ready before pre-partying in Kevin and Braeden's room. It would be the first time he had spent any time with Braeden, save passing each other in the hallways, since Braeden had caught Troy half naked on the floor with Piper. Needless to say, Troy was not looking forward to that part of the evening.

He washed off the day, willing the soreness and tension to leave his aching muscles, and for the most part they did. He didn't know whether to attribute that to the Advil or to the scorching hot shower, but he didn't have much time to think about it before wolfing down his dinner in his underwear and working his way into his slightly too-tight cop outfit. The shirt was snug against his torso and he was forced to unbutton the first several buttons to keep it from pulling apart. Those extra intense workouts were apparently having some effect, he decided, on his pecs at least. At least the pants fit fine, he mused, looking at himself in the mirror one last time before hooking the fake handcuffs to one of the belt loops and putting the hat on his head.

"I think you're missing something," Chad said, buttoning up the white jacket that completed his disco outfit. Troy looked at his friend questioningly. Chad just smiled and held out a pair of aviator sunglasses to Troy, which he took gladly, deciding that they did in fact complete the outfit. Chad set to work picking out his hair so it was even more fro-ed out than usual and Troy braved a peek out into the hallway. Standing outside of Kevin and Braeden's room was a person dressed like Death, sickle included. Troy couldn't help but jump slightly at the sight but then rolled his eyes once he heard the person under the mask call him a pussy in a voice that sounded remarkably like Braeden's. He went to go back into the room, but found Chad standing right behind him, his hair looking bigger than Troy had ever seen it look.

"Nice," Troy told him with an approving smile.

"What can I say? I should've been born about three decades earlier because I make this look _good_," Chad replied, smoothing his hands down the front of the white disco suit. Troy just shook his head, thankful that due to Chad's sunglasses, his rolling eyes were once again shielded from view. They headed next door to find Braeden in the form of Death, Savy as a dark angel, and Amy and Kevin as a flapper girl and gangster, inside all gathered around Kevin's desk.

"Hey guys! You look great!" Amy said, taking her eyes off of the pitcher of liquid in front of her long enough to glance in their direction. Once the six shotglasses in front of her were full of the pitcher's contents, Kevin headed over towards them with two.

"Pumpkin pie shots," he told them, "Happy Halloween!" Troy and Chad returned the nicety before drinking the shots along with everyone else. Once they had all downed three, a knock sounded on the door before it swung wide, revealing Piper standing in the doorway dressed in a very skimpy red pirate costume. Troy found himself _incredibly_ glad that this pants weren't tighter than they were. Greer entered behind her in a cigarette girl costume, a tray full of cheap cigars and cigarettes hanging around her neck. Troy hadn't even made a move to step forward to meet Piper, he had only been thinking about it, but before the thought could even complete itself, he felt a hard item hit him in the middle of his chest. He looked down to see Braeden's sickle planted there.

"Stay away from my sister," Braeden said, his masked pushed up to the top of his head.

"Oh calm down, Braeden. You're being ridiculous," Piper scolded, taking a shot glass from Amy even though Troy could tell from the redness of her cheeks that she had already consumed a drink or three.

"_I'm_ being ridiculous? At least _I'm_ wearing clothes!"

"And what do you call this?" she asked, gesturing her costume.

"Glorified underwear!" Braeden exclaimed only to be pulled away by Savy. Troy stood back and watched the exchange, his stomach feeling tight both from the arousal that had hit him the second he saw Piper's scantily clad body and also from the fear of Braeden _really_ hitting him with that thing. It was made of hard, sharp-edged plastic and he knew that Braeden could probably pack one hell of a wallop if he wanted to. He looked over at Chad, wanting to have a telepathic conversation with him about how to handle the situation, but found Chad staring at something instead. Troy followed Chad's gaze and found it fixed on Greer who was currently showing off the contents of her tray to Kevin.

"You're going to start drooling if you don't calm down," Troy whispered in Chad's ear causing Chad to inhale sharply and to break his stare.

"What are you talking about?" Chad asked, feigning ignorance and fussing with his hair instead.

"Looks like I'm not the only one interested in a senior," Troy said, whispering again.

"Troy, I'm with Taylor…" Chad started, taking in what he assumed to be a judgmental look from Troy before continuing, "…ish."

"No you're not. So have some fun already," Troy told him, knowing full well that Chad wasn't really listening to him. He looked around the room and saw Piper staring at him.

"Nice… glasses, Troy," she said to him, maintaining about a ten foot distance between them.

"Nice _boots_," he replied and immediately the sickle swiped through the air in front of his face.

"Keep it in your pants, Bolton!" Braeden said, his voice muffled now by the mask. Savy snatched the sickle from Braeden's hands and mouthed an apology to Troy before directing Braeden towards the door.

"Let's head out," Kevin announced, one of Greer's cigars now in hand. Everyone headed for the door, and Troy found himself exiting behind Piper. She dropped her purse and bent over slowly in front of him, giving him a fabulous view of ass as she did so.

"I'm so _clumsy_," she said, shooting him a wink before exiting. Troy was thankful that the only person waiting for him in the hallway was Chad.

"Don't worry about it, man. The drunker he gets, the more he'll forget about it," Chad said.

"Are we talking about the same Braeden?" Troy asked. Chad just laughed and gave Troy a shove in the direction of the stairs. It seemed that everyone on campus was heading to a Halloween party since every person they passed was dressed up in some way or another. Troy could feel the alcohol start to buzz through his system and he was thankful for it. He was trying his hardest to have a good time, but things felt so tense, especially with Braeden threatening with bodily harm every time he so much as looked at Piper. He didn't think that Braeden would actually beat him up, but he was well aware of the fact that Braeden could make his life a living hell if he wanted to. And currently, not being able to touch or look at Piper while she was walking around so confidently in that barely-there outfit was seeming more and more like his idea of purgatory.

They entered the party and got themselves drinks before finding a spot where they could all fit in a circle to chat. One drink and a lot of people-watching later, the group started to disband a bit, leaving Troy and Chad alone with Piper and Greer.

"Do you like the fro?" Chad asked Greer. She laughed and reached up to lightly pat it.

"It's very intense," she said, "I do like your outfit, though."

"Yours too. It fits you really well," Chad said, immediately looking mortified at his comment. Troy wished that he could reach over and pull Chad's foot from his mouth but just turned his attention towards Piper instead.

"So, if Halloween is supposed to be the one day a year when girls can dress like sluts without judgment, what's your excuse on all the other days?" he asked her.

"Well, I've been hooking up with a guy who's basically a walking hard-on and it's _really_ entertaining to make him pant like dog all the time," she grinned, taking a long sip of her drink while he glared at her and put his hands on his hips.

"Now kids, play nice," Greer interjected, turning to face them when her face suddenly morphed into an expression of mortification, "Is that _Hetta_?!" They all turned to follow her gaze and saw an obviously tipsy Hetta dressed like a skanky bee on the arm of a Hugh Heffner inspired Eric.

"Shit…" Troy said under his breath. He and Chad shared a brief look, both of them obviously sharing the thought that Hetta drinking at a party with Eric the Asshole was a really bad situation.

"Hetta!" Greer shouted out, heading over to approach her step-sister.

"Oh, hi Greer!" she said a little too cheerfully.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm on a date with Eric," Hetta said, gesturing towards him.

"_Why_ are you on a date with Eric?"

"Because we've been dating for a couple of weeks. Stop being weird," Hetta said.

"I thought you liked Braeden!" Hetta gave her a death glare.

"Would you just go away? God!" And with that, she turned her attention back to Eric and his friends and pretended that Greer wasn't still standing there gaping at her. Troy, Piper, and Chad tried to look like they hadn't been watching the entire exchange, but when she stormed back over, it was apparent that she hadn't noticed.

"I can not believe her! She's still in high school!"

"Oh Greer," Piper said dismissively, waving the hand with her drink in it, "_We_ snuck in to a few college parties our senior year. I believe _someone_ got frisky with a third-baseman, who actually _did_ get to third base." Troy and Chad looked at Greer who just blushed and shot Piper a dirty look.

"How man drinks have you had?" she asked instead, avoiding Piper's comment.

"Enough," Piper replied, finishing off the last of her drink before looking at Troy, "Your shirt's too tight."

"Your point?" he asked.

"You look stupid," she lied, reaching up to touch his chest, somehow fisting her hands in the already taut fabric. Before Troy could process what she was doing or protest, she ripped his shirt open, sending the buttons flying and looking incredibly proud of herself.

"Piper!" he scolded, looking down at himself, "Why did you do that?"

"Uh-oh, Officer Troy's pissed," she grinned, stepping closer to him, "Are you going to arrest me?" Troy snuck a side glance over at Chad and Greer and was mortified to see that they were laughing hysterically at them.

"No, I'm not going to arrest you," he replied, playing along reluctantly. She dropped her cup to the floor and slid her hands over the newly exposed bare skin of his hips.

"Oh… well then will you handcuff me?" she winked, pinching his side and making him squirm. He rued the day she had found out that he was incredibly ticklish there. He wanted to respond, but found the wind practically knocked out of him as he was smacked incredibly hard in the back.

"Braeden!" Savy shouted out, chasing across the room after Braeden as he ran away.

"Christ," Troy muttered.

"Let's go get you another drink," Piper said, grabbing his hand without waiting for a response and dragging him towards the kitchen where she somehow came up with a bottle of tequila and a shot glass.

"Your brother is going to kill me if he sees me hanging out with you," Troy said before downing the first shot she poured him.

"Oh so what. Can't take a few hits with a plastic stick?"

"It _hurts_!" Troy whined.

"Isn't it worth it to spend time with me?" she asked. Troy looked down at her and felt a familiar twinge, this one of guilt.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I hate to see you guys being strained and I can't stand having someone mad at me, it just makes me so uncomfortable. I mean, I've been _afraid_ to go into the dorms because I have no idea what Braeden's going to do to me. You two are so crazy and if the sex with you wasn't so good, I wouldn't even bother!" Troy rambled.

"Good, you're getting drunk," Piper said simply, patting his cheek before pouring him another shot.

"How can you tell?" He frowned down at the newly filled shot glass before downing it.

"You don't shut up and it's even easier than usual to mess with you," she shrugged, taking the glass from his hand and stepping up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. He found himself being dragged back towards Greer and Chad who had been rejoined by Amy and Kevin.

"What's up, guys?" Kevin asked.

"Troy's wasted," Piper said.

"Yeah, because you're so sober," Troy sassed back.

"Well, where's your brother?" Amy asked Piper.

"Off plotting my demise…" Troy grumbled.

"Oh my god, Hetta!" Greer exclaimed out of nowhere, starting to run across the room. The rest of the group looked to see Eric making his way up the stairs practically dragging a very drunk Hetta up alongside him. All of a sudden, Braeden was following behind her, his sickle dropped and forgotten on the floor and his mask pushed up. There was a brief scuffle while Greer attempted to pull Hetta from Eric's grasp and Braeden attempted to deal with Eric. Once Greer had gotten Hetta away from Eric and down the stairs, Chad and Piper went over to help Greer get her outside.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Eric shouted at Braeden.

"Saving you from a statutory rape charge and saving Hetta from catching gonorrhea!" Braeden spat back, not backing down from Eric's significantly taller and larger frame. Troy found himself heading over without even realizing it and he stood closer and watched as Eric backed Braeden down the stairs.

"I don't think it's any of your god damned business!" Eric yelled, getting in one more statement before pulling his arm back and punching Braeden in the left eye, "And I _don't_ have a fucking STD!"

"Hey! Back off!" Troy said, pulling Braeden back before he had the chance to retaliate and putting himself in Eric's line of fire.

"This isn't about you, Troy. It's about me and that little fucker back there trying to keep me from getting laid to that fine piece of ass."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Braeden shouted and Troy had to try very hard to focus enough in his drunk state to pay attention to what both Braeden and Eric were doing at all times so he didn't wind up on the receiving end of a punch.

"What? Do you have a crush on her? Well, you're too late because I'm the one whose dick she's sucking now!" And then all hell broke loose. Braeden couldn't be held back anymore and he lunged forward, hitting Eric in the jaw with a retaliatory punch. Troy wasn't a fighter and never had been, but when a hit intended for Braeden struck him in the ear instead, he couldn't help it as his testosterone kicked into overdrive. If he had been asked to give a blow-by-blow of the rest of the fight, he couldn't have, but he did know that he left the house with a black eye and several bruises on his face. He also knew that Eric looked much worse for the wear than he and Braeden combined, something that gave him a sense of satisfaction that disturbed him slightly. He didn't condone what he had done, but he couldn't have handled listening to Eric say things like that about an innocent girl much longer anyway.

All of them were tossed from the party after the scuffle and they all headed to a park across the street to compose themselves. Greer had called a cab and was sitting on a bench, Hetta laying on it with her head in her big sister's lap, Amy and Kevin were talking to Chad, Savvy was sitting with Braeden close to Greer and Hetta, and Piper was fussing over Troy's wounds.

"You're already getting quite the shiner," she said, her face incredibly close to his own. He could smell her perfume and for a second it distracted him from the pain shooting through his face.

"It was stupid, I shouldn't have done it. But I just hate that guy, he's such a dick!"

"No, you did the right thing. Hetta's like a sister to Braeden and he would protect her to the end, but there's no way he could have taken on Eric by himself," Piper said. Troy shrugged and looked over at Braeden only to find him looking back. He braced himself for getting flipped off or being verbally assaulted, but instead Braeden just gave him a little nod. It wasn't an outright approval, but it was something.


	17. Chapter 17

Hey everyone, Cate here! Well, we're very well aware that this chapter is HORRIBLY overdue, but things have been insane in my life lately (to say the least) and writing took a backseat. But, things are calmed down now so we bring this next chapter! It will not be so long until the next, I assure you!

Thanks so much to Gorgeous Nick Stokes and laxgirl14 for reviewing the last chapter! :)

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Chad laid on the floor on his back with his hands folded under his head, his eyes focused on the lofted ceiling.

After leaving the Halloween party, Chad and Troy had gone back to Greer and Piper's place with them, Braeden and Hetta. Since the apartment wasn't far from where the party was they decided to walk, or stumble in some cases.

_"So Chad, have you talked to Taylor lately?" Troy called from where he walked with Piper._

_"No, but shut up," Chad called back._

_"Ooh, somebody hasn't been getting his phone sex needs met," Troy taunted._

_"Shut up, Troy," Chad said, loudly._

_"Chaddy cakes isn't fun when he hasn't been- phonlaid," Troy stuttered._

_"Phonlaid? You're plastered," Piper laughed at Troy._

_"Am not," Troy retorted. _

After arriving at the girls' apartment, Piper and Troy had disappeared to her room within minutes of arriving at the apartment, while Greer helped her sister clean up then got Hetta settled into her bed.

Braeden insisted on sleeping in Greer's room with Hetta to keep an eye on her since he felt guilty for putting her in the situation. That left Greer and Chad to fend for themselves, so they decided to camp out on the floor of the living room.

He turned and looked at Greer when she asked, "Am I a bad sister?"

"I don't think so, why?" His eyes met hers across the dark room.

"I should have known what she was doing, I should have been there for her," she sighed.

"Don't blame yourself," Chad said. "From what I've seen of your sister, she's a determined girl and she wouldn't have listened to you even if you had told her to stay away from Eric."

"You're right," Greer nodded.

Silence fell over them as they laid side by side. Neither was really tired, but after the excitement that the night had become, the silence was welcomed.

Chad closed his eyes, only to open them a second later when a strange noise echoed through the apartment. "What the hell was that?" He asked Greer.

"That was your friend," she snickered.

"No way," Chad shook his head.

"Way," she replied. "I think he sounds like the Williams sisters at Wimbledon."

Chad chuckled. "I was thinking more along the lines of the monkey house at the Albuquerque Zoo."

"I'll have to take your word for it," Greer laughed. "Though, now if I ever go, instead of seeing the monkeys, I'll see a hundred naked Troys run around with hard o-"

"Stop! I'm already getting mental pictures and I don't want them," Chad pretended to throw up.

"Yeah, well now you know why I leave when they're going at it," she laughed.

Hours later, Chad woke up to the smell of coffee. He sat up and stretched, popping his back in the process. Sleeping on the floor hadn't been the best idea; he was stiff from head to toe, not to mention his head was throbbing.

"You look like you could use a cup."

He looked up and saw Greer standing above him with a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," he said. He took the cup and took a sip. "Do you have any aspirin?"

"Yeah, it's in the kitchen," Greer replied. "You shouldn't take it on an empty stomach."

"I don't know if I can move yet," he stated. "This floor looks deceivingly comfortable. Every muscle in my body is screaming."

"So your body has something in common with Troy," she teased.

"That's not funny," he muttered as he set his coffee cup on the coffee table then stood up. "Oh, that hurts." He rubbed his back.

"I'm sorry, if I knew you were such a baby, I'd have let you sleep on the couch," Greer shrugged.

"I'm more active then you are, so why aren't you sore?" Chad asked as he followed her to the kitchen, seeing Hetta and Braeden sitting at the table.

"'Cause she spends a lot of time on her back," Hetta sassed which earned her a slap in the arm by Greer.

"No, it's because after you fell asleep, she got on the couch," Braeden told his friend as he looked at the clock on the stove. "Hetta, we better go."

"Do we have to?" Hetta sighed. "Dad is going to kill me."

"Remember what I told you last night?" Braeden asked her. Hetta nodded. "What Eric did wasn't your fault, if anybody is at fault here, it's me and me alone, got that?" Hetta nodded again. "Okay, let's go."

Chad and Greer said goodbye and sat in silence as the other two left.

"Can I get some aspirin?" Chad asked after a few minutes.

"Gah, you are being a baby," Greer shook her head as she opened a cabinet to get the pills.

"Hey, you're the one who slept on the couch after you've lectured me about being a good host," Chad rolled his eyes as he caught the bottle she tossed him. "And now I'm in pain."

"Would you shut up about that already?" Greer sighed as she sat down next to him at the table. "I mean, what do you want from me?"

"A massage would be nice," he stated. "My whole body is stiff."

"I'll give you a _back_ massage, but for everything else, you're on your own," Greer conceded.

"That works," Chad smiled.

Greer led him out to the living room and sat down on the couch. She motioned towards the floor in front of her and he sank down, sitting on the pillow he had used the night before.

"Mind if I turn on the TV?" He asked.

"Go ahead, Sports Center should be on," Greer replied as she took off her watch. She placed it on the couch next to her and popped her knuckles before she started to rub his shoulders. "You weren't kidding, Chad, you are stiff."

Upstairs, Troy was leaving Piper's room when he heard Chad reply, "I told you! Taylor used to massage me all the time, but seeing as she- Ow! Why did you pinch me?"

Troy's eyebrows rose and he turned to go back to Piper's room.

"I thought you were getting coffee," she said, looking up at him.

"Chad and Greer are doing something in the living room," he informed her. "She said he was _stiff_-"

"Well, then, let's go break up their little party," Piper winked. She grabbed the shirt from Troy's costume and put it on. Then she grabbed a belt and wrapped it around her middle to keep it closed, while exposing enough cleavage that left Troy wishing they weren't going to leave the room.

Quietly, they tip toed out of the room and Piper put a finger to her lips as they listened.

"Yeah, right there, oh… that feels good," they heard Chad moan.

Piper smirked before she led Troy down the stairs. "Morning, ki-" she stopped when she found both Chad and Greer completely dressed, the TV on and Greer massaging Chad's back. "TROY!"

"Whoops?" He shrugged.

"Whatever, get your clothes and go home, you have a paper to write," Piper said before she stormed up the stairs.

"What was that about?" Chad asked Greer once the other couple had gone up stairs.

"No idea, but I'm sure as soon as you guys leave I'll find out," Greer shook her head.

"And you'll fill me in, right?" Chad asked and Greer nodded.

Ten minutes later, Chad and Troy were on their way back to campus in Troy's truck, they were almost to the dorm when Chad felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out and read the text message he got:

_They thought I was giving u a hand job_.

His eyes grew wide and he looked at his friend. "You thought Greer was giving me a hand job this morning?!" He exclaimed.

"That's what it sounded like," Troy retorted. "How was I supposed to know, I wasn't going to look."

"First of all, Greer and I are just friends, I have Taylor, remember?" He stated. "Secondly, we were in her living room with you guys upstairs! You might be that slutty, Troy, but I'm not!"

"I'm not slutty," Troy pouted as he parked his truck in the parking lot.

"I've seen you with your girlfriend, it's not pretty," Chad commented.

"She's not my girlfriend," Troy replied.

"You guys aren't fuck buddies still, are you?" Chad asked.

"I dunno," Troy shrugged. "We haven't talked about it."

Reaching their floor, Chad opened the door to their hall, but stopped when he saw Braeden and Eric nose-to-nose in the hall.

"You stay away from my sister, you mother fucker," Braeden swore.

"Oh, so, she's your sister now?" Eric snickered. "Couldn't get into her panties last night?"

Chad and Troy grabbed Braeden before he could attack Eric again.

"Just back off, Eric," Chad said as Troy held Braeden back. "Leave us all alone."

"He's just jealous that she put out-"

Braeden yanked out of Troy's grasp and slammed his fist into Eric's eye.

"What the hell is going on here?" Owen demanded as he and Vance came into the hall. The two guys helped Troy and Chad pulled Braeden off Eric and then held Eric back while Troy and Chad both held onto to Braeden. "Would somebody like to fill me in one what's going on here."

"We were all at the Halloween party last night," Vance said when the others didn't speak up. "There was a fight between those three-" he pointed at Troy, Braeden and Eric "-after Eric got Chad's girlfriend's sister drunk and tried to take her upstairs."

"Greer isn't my girlfriend," Chad told Vance.

"Hetta? You got Hetta drunk?" Owen asked, looking at Eric and noticing for the first time all the cuts and black eye that he had. "Dude, you're lucky you didn't come out worse." He looked at Chad, Troy and Braeden. "Since I caught you all fighting, I have a responsibility to report this to the dean of housing. But for now, I'd like you all to go to your specified rooms and hang out there until we get this handled, okay?"

"Fuck this shit," Eric snarled. "I'm going to my parents' house." He pointed his finger at Braeden. "You're gonna get your ass sued." He stormed out of the hall, running into his friend Chris on the way. "Move it fucker!"

Chris rolled his eyes and moved out of Eric's way. Once his friend was gone, he came into the hall and looked at Troy and Braeden. "I'm sorry," he said after a second. "I didn't know what he was planning, I would have stopped him if I had."

"We all wish we could have done more," Chad told him.

"My dad is going to flip when he finds out about this," Braeden shook his head.

"You didn't tell him this morning?" Troy asked.

"No, I just helped Hetta tell her parents, they were disappointed that she would put herself in that situation, but they expressed their gratefulness that I- we- were there to help her out," Braeden stated. "But I don't know what I'll do if Eric tries to press charges."

"He'd be an idiot if he did," Chris said and the others looked at him. "If he tried, we could all get busted for underage drinking, even him."

"Even though he's gone, I'd like you all to go back to your rooms," Owen said. "I'll call and report this."

Chad and Troy made sure Braeden went into his room before they went into theirs.

"Man, that was crazy shit," Chad stated as he sat down at his desk.

"You don't think he'll move us or Braeden do you?" Troy asked.

Chad rolled his eyes and said, "I'm sure if they did either, Piper would find you."

"I know, but it would be weird without Braeden not being next door," Troy shrugged.

"That's just disgusting," Chad pulled a disgusted face. "Especially considering how much noise you make."

"I don't make noise," Troy stated.

"Yeah, ya do," Chad said, standing up. "Greer and I heard you guys last night and she compared you to the Williams sisters playing tennis."

Troy blushed.

"I'm going to go shower," Chad said before leaving the room with his stuff and laughing all the way to the shower.

--

On Wednesday, Chad returned from class to find boxes sitting in the hall.

Seeing Braeden and Kevin's door open, he let himself in. "Hey," he greeted. "What's going on out there."

"Dean Glimore moved Eric to a single on the first floor," Kevin replied, looking up from his computer. "He told Braeden's dad that considering the circumstances that it was the best compromise he could work out."

"You told your dad?" Chad said, looking at Braeden for the first time.

"Nope, Hetta's dad told him," Braeden replied. "He was mad that I was at the party drinking and said that if I was with the people he thought I was with, I should tell my friends that we shouldn't go to any more parties."

"What's so bad about parties?" Kevin asked.

"Troy and I can get kicked off our teams if we are caught drunk," Chad stated. "I wonder how your dad and Coach Carver would react if they knew it was your sister making it her personal goal to get Troy drunk and-"

"Stop," Braeden said, holding up his hand. "I've decided that I'm going to pretend my friend isn't doing anything immoral to my sister."

"Good luck with that man," Chad laughed. "I'll see you guys later."

"You gonna play poker with us tomorrow night?" Kevin asked before Chad could leave.

"Sure, why not," Chad replied. He left their room and headed to his own. He used his key to go into the room and found Troy and Piper laying on Troy's bed. "Uh, hi… Should I leave?"

"No you're fine," Piper rolled her eyes. "I was just leaving anyway. Troy isn't up to-"

"Piper!" Troy and Chad yelled at the same time. Troy didn't want Chad to know he couldn't get it up and Chad had a pretty good idea of what she was hinting at, but he didn't want the confirmation.

"My god you two are such prudes," Piper stated as she got off Troy's bed. She straightened her shirt then grabbed her purse. "Later, babies."

Still slightly uncomfortable, Chad dropped his backpack by his desk then sat down to check his email. He read a forward his mom sent him and laughed. "Troy, man, I gotta send this one to you, it's hilarious," he said as he clicked the forward button.

When his friend didn't reply, Chad turned around and looked at him. "Everything okay, man?" He asked. "I mean I'd rather not talk about whatever your issues down there are, but if you need to talk I'm here."

"There's nothing wrong down there," Troy stated. "There isn't anything wrong with Piper either."

"I didn't say there was," Chad replied. "But obviously something is wrong."

"The biggest game of my life is on Friday," Troy stated. "I mean, this could make or break my college career, Chad." He sighed. "This isn't as simple as you playing baseball, because you're a starting pitcher and a good one. Even if you fuck up once, they'll bring you back out because they need you in the rotation, but me. If I fuck up Friday night I'll find myself on the bench for the rest of the year."

"You're starting at the game on Friday?" Chad asked, surprised. "But I thought Coach Carver said-"

"Coach told me last night after practice," Troy replied. "Since this isn't an official game, just an exposition one, he wants to get me out on the floor to see how I match up with the other guys."

Chad had never seen his best friend this vulnerable before, especially when it came to basketball. Troy had always ruled the courts he played on and had a lot of confidence in his playing ability. "Dude, you're going to rock out there," Chad said, turning around in his chair to face his friend. This was new territory to him, having to reassure Troy, usually it was the other way around. "You're the best player I know, Troy, and Coach Carver wouldn't start you Friday night if he didn't think you were ready for this.

"This is your chance to shine, man, your chance to show all these new Wildcats why the coaches took a chance on a kid from Albuquerque, New Mexico. You know this game like the back of your hand, man, this is the game we've been playing since we were 5.

"Friday's game will be like all the games you played before, Troy. Sure you'll be playing with a brand new team and guys that are taller than you, but dude, you owned that seven foot something kid we played against last year. You're going to rule the court on Friday night, man. I know it and deep down you know it, too. And I didn't want to say anything, but Greer talked her dad into getting us seats right behind you guys. So she, Piper, Braeden, Kevin and I will be cheering you on."

Finished, Chad leaned forward and looked at his friend, waiting for Troy to say something.

"Thanks for the pep talk, man, but what if we lose?" Troy asked. He sat up on his bunk and looked at Chad.

"Part of living is facing defeat," Chad replied. Where was Coach Bolton when he needed him? "You can only win so many times before you lose. Besides, losing only makes you want to win more and it makes you tougher."

"Yeah I guess," Troy ran a hand through his hair.

"I think I'm gonna go get dinner, you wanna come?" Chad asked him.

"I guess," Troy shrugged.

The next evening, Chad leaned against the wall as he played poker with Braeden, Kevin, Vance, Spencer and Owen. Since none of them really had money to gamble away they were betting candy stashes.

Seeing Chris enter the hall out of the corner of his eye, Chad nudged Braeden then nodded towards Chris. Since he had always been hanging out with Eric, they really hadn't gotten a chance to hang out with Chris, but now that Eric was gone.

"Do you want to play, Chris?" Spencer asked.

"Looks like you guys are full already," Chris replied.

"You can take my place," Chad offered. "I wanted to go make a phone call anyway."

Braeden made a ringing noise and Kevin pretended to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Chaddy cakes, what are you wearing."

Chad gave Braeden a hard shove then threw a jolly rancher at Kevin, hitting him in the forehead. "Shut up," he said before he headed for his room leaving his friends laughing. It was moments like this when he hated Troy and his big blabber mouth. He made a mental note to bring along a roll of duck tape the next time they went to a party.

Closing his door, Chad threw the lock into place before he grabbed his cell phone. He knew Troy had a basketball thing that night and that he was planning to go to Piper's to get relaxed for the game, so he had plenty of time to talk to Taylor. Between her full class load and his they hadn't had a lot of time to talk in the past weeks and he missed her. He couldn't wait the two weeks til Thanksgiving Break to see her, to touch her, to make love to her.

He could feel his shorts tighten just at the thought of her body pressing against his. Grabbing the box of tissues, he climbed up on to his bed and dialed her number. He leaned back against his pillows as he waited for her to answer. She never did.

With a sigh he left her a message on her voicemail, telling her to call him when she had the chance.

Deciding to try calling her on her dorm landline, he punched the number into his phone and waited.

"Hello?" Gabriella answered the phone.

"Hey, it's Chad," he greeted. "Is Taylor around?"

"You just missed her," Gabriella replied. "Did you try her cell?"

"Yup, went straight to voicemail," Chad said.

"I guess she's already at the library then," Gabriella said. "I'll tell her you called."

"Thanks," Chad said before hanging up. Not wanting to look bad in front of his friends, he decided to stay in his room for the rest of the night and found himself creating a Facebook account.

He found that several of his college friends already had profiles-including Troy-and after seeing Piper's profile image-half naked Troy-he decided to not look at her photos. Curious to which of his high school buddies had profiles, he typed in East High School in the search bar and waited as the page loaded.

He found several of his and Troy's basketball teammates as well as some of his baseball and track and field friends. Not seeing Taylor's name, he clicked on Gabriella's profile and got to Taylor's profile from there.

He looked at her profile, noting that she had her relationship status listed as 'complicated.' Then he clicked on her profile picture and his brows furrowed when he scrolled down the page and saw 20 of a listed 100 tagged pictures of her. He clicked on the first picture and saw her with her tongue down another guys' throat. He clicked to go to the next picture and saw her dressed in a barely there outfit.

Growing uneasy, he quickly exited the internet browser then shut down his computer. He pulled off his clothes and was half way up to his bed when his cell phone started to ring. He jumped down and flipped it open before looking at who was calling, "Ello?"

"Hey sexy," he heard Taylor's voice say. "How's the weather?"

Chad was torn as to what to do. He wanted to know what was going on in those pictures, but at the same time he just wanted to believe those pictures were just dirty innocent fun and that she was looking forward to Thanksgiving as much as he was.

"Chad, are you there?" She asked.

"Yeah," he said, coming to the conclusion she wouldn't have called if he didn't mean anything to her. "And the weather is perfect."

"Oooh, goody," she giggled.

Chad closed his eyes and stretched out on his bed with his hand gripped around his hardening manhood as he and Taylor whispered back the naughty things they wanted to do to each other and what they were doing to themselves to get themselves there.

"Chad, I'm almost there," she cried into the phone. "Come with me, Chad, I want to hear you come with me."

Chad felt himself growing close and he grunted into the phone as he came with her crying in his ear as she came. Then he did something he hadn't done in months. "I love you, Taylor."

"Yeah, you, too," she said, quickly. "Night Chad."

--

With his last class of the day canceled on Friday, Chad headed back to the dorm enjoying the warm weather. He planned to go upstairs, grab his baseball mitt and convince one of the guys to catch for him.

But as he neared the dorms, Chad froze in mid step when he saw two unmistakable men standing by the dorm talking to a guy. _The coaches_. For a second he wondered if there was another entrance into the dorms, but before he could think about it too much, he saw his stepdad look over in his direction.

Knowing he was caught, Chad forced a smile on his face before walking over to where his stepdad and Troy's dad were standing.

"Jack, Paul, what are you guys doing here?" Chad asked, approaching them slowly, all the while wondering where the hell Troy was.

"We came for Troy's game," Paul said, clapping Chad on the back. "Surprise."

"So it's just the two of you?" Chad asked.

"Nope, Lucy, your mom and sister are back at the hotel," Jack told him. "Where's Troy?"

"Oh and um, I'm not sure," Chad replied.

"Alright, well why don't we go up to your dorm room and wait for him?" Paul suggested. "It'll give you a chance to tell us everything you don't want your mom to know."

"Great," Chad said, forcing another smile. He led his stepdad and Troy's dad into the building and led them up the stairs to his and Troy's floor. Walking into their hall, Chad spotted the green rubber band on the door handle. He looked from the door to the coaches then back at the door.

"Everything alright, Chad?" His stepdad asked.

"Uh, yeah, it's just I just remember I forgot my key this morning," Chad lied. "And Troy won't be back for awhile so how about we go get some food?" He started to walk away but felt himself being tugged backwards. He turned and found Coach Bolton holding the lanyard his keys were on. "Oh look, you found my keys."

"What's going on in there that you don't want us to see, Chad?" Paul asked him.

"No- nothing," Chad stammered. As Coach Bolton put the key in the lock, Chad silently prayed that Troy had forgotten to take the rubber band off the door earlier and that he and Piper weren't in there.

"CHAD GET OUT!" He heard Troy yell as Coach Bolton pushed open the door. Chad saw the lights come on then heard Troy yell, "DAD?! SHIT!"


	18. Chapter 18

Ally here- I bet you guys are surprised to see a new chapter so soon... but we're turning over a new leaf and trying to get this story finished... so hopefully our updates will stay steady and not drop off like they did before... Anyway, enjoy the awkwardness that is Troy and Piper being walked in on by his dad...

P.s. Thanks to LoveIsLost29, Gorgeous Nick Stokes and laxgirl14 for reviewing the last chapter

* * *

**Chapter 18**

Troy had heard the phrase "my heart skipped a beat" many times throughout his life, but had never actually experienced the phenomenon for himself until his dad opened the door and turned on the light, illuminating his and Piper's fully naked bodies. And, of course, he'd let himself be talked into doing it in his desk chair so there were no blankets anywhere near to cover her up with. Even though his dad had immediately covered his eyes, Troy was sure he'd gotten quite a view.

"Dad! Get out!" Troy yelled, lunging towards the bed and throwing the closest blanket at Piper so she could shield herself until his dad left so they could get redressed. Instead of moving like most normal people would have, Jack instead continued to stand half in, half out of their room with his hand clapped over his eyes.

"Troy, get over here now!"

"Can I put some clothes on first?" Troy asked, already pulling his boxer briefs on and reaching for his jeans.

"No," his dad said sternly, and Troy knew that tone of voice better than to disobey. Once he saw that Piper had redressed herself hurriedly and was ready to get the hell out of there, he slowly made his way over to his dad.

"Is your… friend dressed?" his dad asked.

"Yes and she would like to leave now," Troy said, obviously annoyed at his dad's insistence on micro-managing the situation. Did he honestly think that Troy and Piper would just go back at it if he closed the door again? Jack finally uncovered his eyes again and stepped aside so Piper could leave. Troy wished that she would just go and not do anything to get him in more trouble, but true to her typical form, she stepped forward and kissed Troy full on the mouth before winking at Jack and leaving the room. He heard her say hi to Chad, who was obviously lurking in the hallway, and then go into Braeden's room.

"Who was that?" Jack asked.

"Piper," Troy said simply, too embarrassed to offer any extra information.

"Why didn't you tell your mom and I that you have a girlfriend?"

"She's not really my girlfriend. We…" Troy started, but Chad and Paul came in the room.

"Why don't you grab your mitt, Chad. We can go to the park and you can get some throws in before we meet your mom and sister for lunch," Paul said, obviously trying to get Chad out of there before the conversation got any heavier.

"You what?" Jack asked, ignoring Paul and Chad completely. As Chad walked past, he mouthed "Sorry" to Troy who just glared at him.

"We…" Troy started and watched the door until he saw that Chad and Paul had left until finishing, "We have an arrangement." Every word coming out of his mouth felt so wrong, but he knew better than to try to lie to his dad.

"An arrangement?" his dad asked, looking hard at him before smiling, "Nice."

"What?!" Troy couldn't mask the horror in his face.

"I mean, I know I'm your dad and I'm supposed to tell you to be more responsible, but she's sure easy on the eyes," Jack said with an approving grin.

"Oh my god, Dad! Stop!" Troy said as he went over and found his shirt, discarded, somehow, up on Chad's bed.

"Let's not tell your mom about this, okay? She might not take it so well," Jack said and Troy breathed a sigh of relief. He had enough to worry about with the game that evening, he didn't need his mom scolding him all afternoon about having promiscuous sex. He also didn't need his dad continuously giving him thumbs up and making little side comments when his mom was preoccupied, but unfortunately, Troy _did_ have to deal with that.

He spent the afternoon with his parents shopping for food to stock their room and then they had an early dinner with Chad and his parents so Troy would have plenty of time to get ready for the game. As he re-laced his shoes in the locker room, an old superstition that had rarely failed him, he made himself focus on the game at hand. So much was riding on this and it could potentially set up or ruin his collegiate basketball career. His stomach tightened at the thought and he forced himself to stand up and head for the doors. He was by far the youngest guy starting in the game and he knew that they were all nervous about how he would perform. So was he. Sure he'd done great when he'd been the captain back at East High. That had been his comfort zone and that felt light years away from where he was now.

As he took to the court, he could feel his heart pounding fiercely against his ribcage. It wasn't until someone actually passed him the ball five minutes into the first quarter and he sunk it easily into the basket that he felt his nerves lighten. Each time he did something correctly he felt better, even if was as simple as getting out of someone's way when they had the ball. When the final buzzer filled the arena, the Wildcats had won 78-73 and six of those points were now officially fodder for Troy's own bragging rights.

As the scalding hot water of the showers was washing away the sweat and stress of the game, he realized that not once during the game had he noticed where his and Chad's families were sitting. He knew that was good because it meant that he'd been completely focused during the game, which his dad would be happy about. But, his mom surely wouldn't be happy that he hadn't looked her way once so she could take a pictures of him. His dad had never quite broken her of that habit.

Once he was clean and had all of his things stuffed into his duffle bag, he headed outside to find his parents. On his way through the dark parking lot towards their car, he passed Piper and Greer. Piper didn't say a word, she just held up her camera and snapped a few pictures of him before walking away. Greer rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Great game, Troy. We'll see you at the party, right?" Then, as if he'd teleported there, Chad appeared next to Troy.

"You know it," Chad grinned, slinging an arm around Troy's shoulders and leading him towards their parents. "Now what did I tell you?"

"That I'd be fine," Troy sighed, sensing an "I told you so" speech coming on.

"And you were better than fine! Six points in your first college game? That's awesome, man!"

"Thanks," Troy said, finding the attention embarrassing, even just coming from Chad. He knew that it was about to get a lot worse and as soon as they came into their parents' line of sight, the camera flashes started. "Mom, stop it!"

"Just a few," she smiled before coming over to hug him. "We are so proud of you, Troy!"

"Now that Coach Carver has seen what you can do, you'll be a starter for the rest of the season," his dad said, grinning from ear to ear.

"I doubt it, Dad. Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Troy laughed nervously. Of course he'd thought about whether or not he'd get to start again any time soon. It was pretty much all he'd been able to think about since the game got over. But he certainly didn't need anyone putting any ideas in his head.

"Time to go out for ice cream!" Chad said exuberantly, and Troy knew that Chad had likely been waiting impatiently for the ice cream trip for the last two hours. They went to Cold Stone and Troy got his favorite, the Birthday Cake Remix, and once everyone was finished, they headed back to the dorms.

"It's already pretty late boys, so just go to bed. We're going to brunch in the morning and you need to be up and showered by ten. Got it?" Troy's mom asked as they pulled in front of Troy and Chad's dorm building.

"Got it, Mom," Troy said.

"Right to bed," Jack reiterated, giving Troy a knowing wink before pulling away.

"If my dad winks at me or gives me a thumbs up one more time, I think I'm going to have a nervous breakdown," Troy said matter-of-factly.

"Jack impressed by Piper?" Chad asked.

"Shut _up_, Chad! It's so gross! I can't believe my dad saw me having sex. It's so wrong," Troy moped as they made their way upstairs.

"I can't believe_ I_ saw you having sex. Jack turned that light on and in those few seconds I saw way more of you than I ever needed to see," Chad said.

"The rubber band was on the doorknob for a reason," Troy grumbled.

"And I _tried_ to get them to go get some food first, but your dad saw my keys in my pocket after I'd lied about having them and he knew something was up. I tried, I really did."

"Oh my god! It's that sexy basketball superstar, Troy Bolton!" Braeden screamed in a girly voice from inside his room. The door was standing ajar and Troy assumed that meant they were supposed to go inside. Kevin, Amy, Braeden, and Savy were all hanging out, watching TV and drinking.

"Congrats!" Amy exclaimed to Troy, tossing a can of beer at him which he thankfully caught.

"Thanks," Troy said, "Are you guys going to the party?"

"Absolutely! We were just waiting for you slow asses!" Braeden informed them, handing Chad a beer, "Now go get changed so we can go!" Troy and Chad stuck their beers in Troy's duffle bag before heading next door to their own room where they promptly chugged the beers before changing.

"Let's go!" Troy said, checking his pockets to be sure he had everything he needed.

"But, I thought we were supposed to go straight to bed," Chad teased.

"Nah, what they don't know won't hurt them," Troy laughed and they headed next door to pick up the others before heading for the Beta house. As soon as they walked in the door, some guys from the basketball team found him and made him do a keg stand, something he hated doing but he did it anyway since the seniors were pretty much forcing him to. When they set him right side up again, Piper was standing in front of him shaking her head.

"You're going to be no good to me if you're sloppy drunk," she sighed.

"I'm hardly even buzzed," he defended.

"Yeah _now_. Just wait until that all hits you. You'll pass out the second your head hits the pillow."

"I can't stay with you tonight anyway. Brunch with mine and Chad's parents in the morning," he explained.

"Well that's fine. I have the same thing with my family and Greer's family. We're meeting some candidate for a coaching position for a meal; make sure they feel comfortable here, blah blah blah." Troy smiled as he looked at her, her cheeks more flushed than usual.

"You're cute when you're grumpy," he teased her, reaching forward to pinch her reddened cheek. She smacked his hand away and then placed a fresh cup of beer in it.

"I'm not grumpy, I just get tired of being forced to help charm prospective employees for the Athletic Department. I've been doing it for most of my life."

"Is that why you act so nasty to everyone else all the time? Because you're tired to being nice to prospective school employees?"

"Yeah, pretty much," she shrugged with a smile, "Now let's go get you drunker, Mr. Six Points."

"Is that my new nickname?"

"For now," she smirked, grabbing him by the front of the shirt and pulling him from the kitchen. Four hours and an undetermined number of beers later, Troy and Chad managed to stumble up the stairs and down the hall to their room. Piper had been exactly right; Troy fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.

Far too few hours later, Troy's phone started ringing incessantly on his dresser. A few minutes after that, Chad's phone joined in, their contrasting rings creating chaos in the room.

"Shut your phone off," Chad grumbled into his pillow.

"_You_ shut _your_ phone off," Troy replied as he sat up and immediately the room started to spin, "Holy shit."

"Going to that party was a bad idea," Chad said, his voice still muffled by his pillow, "I don't think I'll be able to move for two days."

"Well, you'd better get the hell over it. According to this text from my mom, they'll be here any minute," Troy said, closing his eyes against the light as he turned it on. Until he had some Advil in his system, there was no way he was opening his eyes again. He fumbled in his top dresser drawer for it and easily opened it when he did, dry swallowing three. After a quick phone call to his mom telling her he and Chad would be ready for them in twenty minutes, he literally drug Chad out of bed and shoved him into the hallway, prodding him all the way to the bathroom.

"I think I'm going to puke," Chad announced once they were in the bathroom, and then bolted for a stall. Troy sighed and got his shower stuff from the shelves and headed for an open shower. As quickly as he could manage, he got cleaned up and presentable looking, dressing himself in a pair of nice jeans and a polo shirt and blow drying his hair all before their moms knocked on the door. Chad was not so speedy and was just making his way back in the room when they showed up.

"You boys look tired," Chad's mom said.

"Yeah… _tired_," Troy's mom rolled her eyes, "You two, this place is a pigsty. We're not leaving this room until you pick it up." Troy looked around in confusion. Sure there were some clothes lying around, but it wasn't _that_ bad, was it?

"Put your dirty clothes in the hamper, get your desk organized and take out the trash. Then we can go eat," Chad's mom said, which immediately set Chad off on a whining rampage. Troy would have joined him if every word he spoke wasn't sending shockwaves of pain coursing through his head. He had the mother of all hangover headaches and he didn't want to do anything to make it worse. So, he obediently cleaned up his side of the room and ten minutes later they were finally headed to the restaurant they were eating brunch at.

Troy's dad, Chad's step-dad and step-sister were waiting for them outside of the restaurant.p

"A little slow moving this morning?" Jack asked knowingly, clapping a hand on Troy's shoulder. His hand remained there, however, and he held Troy back while everyone else headed inside. Troy could smell the bacon and hash browns and found himself incredibly annoyed with his father for keeping him from the greasy goodness for longer than necessary. "You'd better perk up, Troy. This brunch is really important to Paul." Troy looked at his dad, waiting for more information about why it was so important when someone brushed past his shoulder.

"Well if it isn't Mr. Six Points," Piper said, walking backwards for a few seconds before getting pulled ahead by Braeden who looked worse for the wear than he and Chad put together.

"Hey, wasn't that Piper?" Troy's dad asked excitedly, nudging Troy with his elbow.

"Yes, Dad, it was," Troy sighed before mumbling under his breath, "Oh goody…" What the hell was he in for?


	19. Chapter 19

Ally here-I should be doing my homework right now but oh well. I actually posted this chapter on our website last night but was too lazy to post it here.. so here it is now :-D It's pretty long and crap... but Taylor makes an appearance... but I won't say if that is a good or bad thing zips lips

Enjoy and as always, thanks to the awesome peeps that reviewed the last chapter: LoveIsLost29 & MUW D'Bellegirl

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Chad rubbed his forehead as he sat next to his sister. A loud restaurant was the last place he wanted to be with the hangover he had. It didn't help that his sister had not stopped talking since the moment he had gotten in the car.

"Chad?" He turned and found Greer standing behind him.

"Hey," he replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Official University of Arizona convince this awesome coach that he and his family should move here and lead the Wildcats to a national title brunch," she replied. "What about you?"

"Brunch with the family," he gestured to his sister.

"Chad, who's daddy talking to?" Sabra asked, turning her big brown eyes at him.

Chad looked over his shoulder and saw his step-dad greeting Piper and Greer's dads. His hangover forgotten, Chad pushed back his chair and walked over to where the men were talking.

"Hey, Chad," Paul greeted him. "Coach Scott was just telling me about your fall workouts. Sounds like you're going to be one of their top starters."

"And who knows, maybe your mom and dad will be living in Arizona and get a chance to see you play," Coach Scott smiled.

"Living in Arizona? What is he talking about?" Chad asked, looking at his step-dad as Troy and his dad walked up.

"Chad, can we talk about this later?" Paul asked.

"No, let's talk about it now," Chad insisted. "What's going on?"

"I was offered a position here as an assistant for the football team," Paul informed him. "Your mom and I didn't want to say anything until we knew it might actually happen."

"What?" Chad looked back at his mom. "That's crap! You should have told me."

Coach Scott placed a hand on Chad's shoulder and said, "It wouldn't be bad thing to have your parents here, Chad, just look how my kids have adjusted to college life."

Chad bit his tongue from saying anything and sat down at the seat farthest away from the adults. He couldn't believe his mom and step-dad had kept this from him. They should have told about this the second they found out it was a possibility, he was an adult and as much as he missed his mom, he didn't want them moving to Arizona.

"What's wrong with him?" Braeden asked when Troy walked over and sat down.

"His step-dad is the one you guys are here to impress," Troy replied. "And nobody told him."

"That's low," Braeden shook his head. "We should show our support and stage a walkout to show our parents that they should treat us like adults."

"You just want a walkout because you have a hangover," Hetta said, slipping into the seat next to him having just arrived with her mom and younger sister.

"What's a hangover, Troy?" Chad's little sister Sabra asked, looking up at him.

"It's a really bad headache," Greer told her. "That's a very pretty drawing. Is that a flower?"

"Uh huh," Sabra nodded. "It's for Chad. He likes flowers."

"I'm sure he'll love it," Greer smiled. She looked over at Chad and saw him sitting with his arms crossed, glaring at the other end of the table where their dads talked sports.

He remained pouty through brunch, only uncrossing his arms to eat his meal.

"Mommy, I'm bored," Sabra said after they'd all finished their meals and the adults were talking.

"Draw another picture for Chad and Troy's room," her mother suggested.

"But my hand hurts," the little girl pouted.

"We could take her to the park," Greer spoke up.

"Who's we?" Troy, Braeden and Piper asked at the same time.

"All of us," Greer replied. "It's pretty close to campus and we could take my dad's SUV."

"Please mommy? I wanna go to the park," Sabra gave her a puppy face.

"Alright, but you listen to your big brother and don't wander off anywhere," her mom said.

"Yeah! Come on, Chad! We're going to the park!" Sabra danced. She pulled on her older brother's hand until he stood up and followed her out the door.

Greer and the others followed and piled into her dad's car. She drove them to the park and they all piled out. She grabbed Piper's arm and said, "Can you and Troy watch Sabra for a few minutes while I talk to Chad?"

Piper opened her mouth to object, but nodded when Greer gave her a pleading look. "Fine," she rolled her eyes.

"You wanna talk or do you still want to act like a baby?" Greer asked, climbing back in the car and sitting next to Chad.

"I'm not acting like a baby," Chad retorted. Greer raised her eyebrows. "Okay, fine, maybe I'm acting childish, but they should have told me. They shouldn't have let me walk into the brunch blindly."

"No they shouldn't, but you should be supportive of them, Chad," Greer said. "This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for your dad. Assistant coaching positions don't come along very often and if he got one there's a real chance he could become a head coach some day."

"I know that, but as selfish as it sounds, I don't want them here," he stated. "My mom already calls or texts me everyday to make sure I'm okay, can you imagine what it would be like if they lived here? She and Troy's mom made me and Troy clean our room before we left this morning, if she lived here, Troy and I would be grounded because of the way our room looks."

"Chad, you don't know that this is actually going to happen," Greer reminded him. "But right now your adorable little sister wants to hang out with you and you're acting like a two-year-old. So just let this go and deal with it later if you need to, but I know you and you'll regret not spending time with Sabra when they leave."

Before Chad could reply, Greer felt her phone vibrate and pulled it of her pocket. She opened the new text message and rolled her eyes before showing it to Chad.

_Stop making out with Chad and come watch his little sister so I can go make out with Troy._

"Why does she always think we're doing something naughty?" Chad asked.

"Because it's Piper and her brain only works in naughty mode?" Greer replied. "So what, are you going to stay in here in be a brat or are you going to come outside and play?"

"I'll go outside and play, but you better lock this up tight or we'll come back and find Troy and Piper having sex on a seat," Chad shuddered. "Did you hear about that?" He paused. "What am I saying? Of course you heard about it, Piper's your best friend."

"She came home laughing," Greer said as they climbed out of the car. "She said daddy Bolton was kinda hot, too." She locked the doors and set the alarm. "And I have to agree, for a dad he's pretty hot… but certainly not the hottest dad I've ever seen."

"That's disgusting," Chad finally said after opening and closing his mouth several times.

"Finally!" Piper exclaimed when Chad and Greer arrived at the swings. "What took you guys so long?"

"She was probably giving him a handjob," Braeden smirked from where he sat on a swing. "Right Troy?"

Troy reached out to smack him in the back of the head only to have Piper grab his hand and pull him away.

"Chad push me," Sabra ordered.

"Oh god, she was with Piper for all of 10 minutes and she's been infected," Chad groaned.

Greer laughed and sat down on the swing next to Sabra. "While you're at it, Chad, push me, too," she said.

"Will you push me, too, Chaddy?" Braeden asked, fluttering his eye lashes.

"Push yourself," Chad retorted and flipped him the bird.

"Oooh, Chaddy, I'm gonna tell your mommy you did that," Braeden said, only to get slugged by Greer. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Act your age," Greer rolled her eyes.

The sound of her dad's SUV's car alarm going off made them all jump up and Chad covered Sabra's eyes when they saw Piper pushing Troy against a tree nearby.

"They have no shame," Greer shook her head.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and after a meal in the cafeteria, Troy and Chad were saying goodbye to their parents. Chad tried to apologize to his step-dad for the way he had acted earlier, but Paul just shook it off and said they'd talk about it in a couple weeks when Chad was home for Thanksgiving.

Once their parents had pulled away Troy and Chad went back up to their room and Chad sat down to write a paper he'd been putting off for a week.

The two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving break passed by quickly and Chad soon found himself packing a bag for his weekend at home. He was stealing a handful of the condoms Troy had tucked under the bed when his best friend came running into the room.

"Coach Carver is letting me start Friday's game!" Troy exclaimed.

"Dude! That's awesome," Chad said. "So he made you a full time starter?"

"No, but one of the senior's grandma died and Coach Carver said I impressed him so much that he's going to let me start in our last preseason game," Troy replied. "And you know you'll have to replace the condoms you just stole, right?"

"Dude, are you seriously going to be like that?" Chad asked. "You just got the best news of your life and I'm headed home in a few hours to have sex with my girlfriend for the first time in _months_."

"Well when you put it that way…" Troy gave a dramatic pause. "You still gotta replace 'em, because Piper will kill me if I don't have any."

"You know I'm sure if you two had sex at the convenience store the clerk would give you condoms for free," Chad said as he dropped the condoms back into the box under the bed.

"Funny," Troy rolled his eyes. "So did you hear that Piper's parents invited me and my parents' for Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Seriously?" Chad asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, apparently, they do dinner with the Carvers and when they found out my parents were coming for the game they decided to extend the invitation to them as well," Troy shook his head. "I hope they have a kids table, because I can not sit through dinner with my dad winking at me all night."

"Or Piper winking at him," Chad said.

"What are you talking about?" Troy asked, confused.

"Piper told Greer that she thought your dad was kinda hot," Chad shrugged. "But that doesn't bother you, doesn't it? I mean you don't have a claim on Piper, you guys only have an arrangement."

"Fuck you," Troy spat. "Just take the stupid condoms."

"Thanks," Chad grinned and grabbed a handful and dropped them in his bag. "So I guess I'll see you on Sunday."

"You're leaving now?" Troy asked.

"No, but I'm leaving really early tomorrow morning," Chad replied. "And I doubt you'd want me to wake you up and say goodbye."

"I would kick your ass," Troy stated.

"Exactly, so uh, good luck at the game on Friday," Chad said.

"Good luck gettin' in Taylor's pants," Troy replied.

The next morning Chad woke up at 3:30 in the morning, a half hour before his alarm was supposed to go off. Even though he had had less than five hours asleep, there wasn't a tired bone in his body. He quietly climbed off his bed, grabbed his shower stuff and headed for the bathroom.

He took extra time washing his body and hair wanting to smell good, after all in a few hours he'd be seducing Taylor and convincing her that they belong together. Done with his shower he hurried back to his and Troy's room and added his dirty clothes to his laundry bag. He wrote Troy a quick goodbye message on a sticky note then grabbed his stuff and left the room.

Because it was so early, the traffic was light as he left Tucson headed for Albuquerque. The normal six and a half hour drive took him a little over five and three quarters and he pulled up in front of his parents' house a little after ten in the morning.

"CHAD!" He heard Sabra yell as he walked in the front door. He dropped his stuff on the ground barely in time to catch her as she leaped at him. "I missed you."

"Where's mom?" Chad asked her.

"In the kitchen," Sabra said.

Chad carried his little sister through the house to the kitchen where he found his mom and step-dad. "Hey," he greeted.

"You're here earlier than I thought," his mom said as she pulled him in for a hug.

"He's probably home early to see Taylor," Paul smiled.

"I'm here to see you guys, too," Chad replied. "So what's going on? Why aren't you at work, Paul?" He watched his parents share a look. "Seriously, what's going on?"

"We've decided we're going to stay in Albuquerque," his mom said. "The job was a great one, but at this point in our lives it's not a good idea for us to leave."

"What your mom is trying to say is that this morning we found out she's pregnant," Paul told him. "And it would be silly for us to move to Arizona when we have family and friends to help out with a new baby."

"You're having a baby?" Chad stared at his mom in disbelief. She nodded. "Wow. Congrats."

After their announcement, Paul excused himself to go to work and Chad found himself allowing Sabra to drag him around the house. They finally settled in her room at her little table drawing.

"How do you spell Greer?" She asked him.

"G – r – e – e – r," he spelt slowly, impressed with her writing skills.

"Will you give this to her?" Sabra asked when she was done.

"Absolutely," Chad nodded. "She'll love it."

"I know," Sabra stated. "I want her to come to my birthday party."

"Okay, I'll let her know," Chad laughed. He looked at the clock on her wall and saw that it was a few minutes after 3-Taylor's plane had landed at 2. "Saby, I gotta go, but I'll play with you tonight, okay?"

He didn't wait for his little sister to reply before he left the room and went to his room. He changed into a nicer pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt, sprayed on a little axe body spray then headed out the door, yelling to his mom that he'd be home later.

Chad sped as quickly, but lawfully, as he could and pulled up in front of the apartment building Taylor lived in with her sister. He gave himself a final look in the mirror before he got out of the car and hurried up to their front door. He rang the doorbell and stepped back.

"Hi Chad," Taylor's sister smiled when she opened the door. "Come on in, Taylor's in her room. You can go in there if you'd like."

"Thanks," Chad smiled. He waited until she'd left the entry hall before he tore up the stairs. He knocked three times on Taylor's door-his trademark knock-then opened the door. "Hey sexy."

"Hey Chad," Taylor greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," Chad replied, shutting the door behind himself. "You know, do a little catching up."

"Chad, we can't do anything," Taylor told him.

"We've done things with your sister in her room before," he replied. "We can be quiet."

"That's not the reason why can't do anything," Taylor shook her head.

"Then what is?" Chad asked her. "If it's a time thing, that's fine. I doubt I'll be able to last long anyway seeing as though it's been awhile since I've had -"

"I have a boyfriend, Chad," she cut him off.

"What? How can you have a boyfriend?" He asked, feeling like he had been slapped in the face. "We-"

"Chad, we said we'd only do this if we were both single," Taylor reminded him. "I met a guy at school."

"And you didn't bother to let me know?!" Chad exclaimed.

"Oh don't act like that, I know _all_ about _Greer_," Taylor snapped, crossing her arms.

"Greer?" Chad asked. "What is there to know about her? We're just friends!"

"_Right_ and that's why when Gabriella and I were in Tucson, she basically drilled Gabriella about you and me," Taylor stated.

"Greer is just my friend, Taylor," Chad assured her. "Besides it wouldn't be fair for me to date other girls when I'm in love with you."

"You're still in love with me?" Taylor said, surprised.

"Well I was," Chad stated, crossing his arms. "But I'm beginning to realize that you aren't the girl I fell in love with."

"Chad, you really didn't expect me to go away for school and save myself for a fuck buddy, did you?" Taylor asked. "We were over along time ago and-"

"That's your problem, Taylor, you're a selfish slut," Chad cut her off. "You don't think about anybody but yourself! It was your idea to break up and be fuck buddies and I only went along with it because I hoped you would want to get back together with me. But you know what, we're done-" he motioned between them. "-with every part of this. As far as I'm concerned, we're not even friends any more."

"Chad, you don't mean that," she smirked. "You can't live without me."

"That's where you're wrong, I've been living without you for nearly a year," he replied. "And now I'm ready to actually start living. Goodbye Taylor."

"Chad," she called after him but he just kept walking away. "YOU'LL BE BACK!" She yelled. "JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE! YOU'LL WANT ME BACK!!"

Chad shook his head and drove back to his parents' house. Pulling into the driveway, he shut off his car and looked at the house and watched his mom and stepdad dancing in the kitchen. He wanted a relationship like theirs and he'd thought he'd have that with Taylor, but not any more.

He took a deep breath then climbed out of his car. He didn't want to be here anymore, he wanted to leave.

"Chad, will you have a tea party with me?" Sabra asked when he walked into the house.

"Not right now, Saby," he told her before going into the kitchen. "I think I'm going back to school tonight."

"But we haven't had dinner yet," his mom said, pulling out of his stepdad's arms. "And you just got here this morning."

"I just can't be here right now, mom," Chad shook his head. "I just-" He shook his head. "I have to get out of here."

His parents watched him leave the room then his mom sighed. "I'm going to go talk to him," she told her husband. He nodded. She went up the stairs to Chad's room and knocked on the door. "Can I come in?" Chad sighed and opened the door. "What's going on, Chad?"

"Taylor and I, we're officially over," Chad told her as he took a deep breath.

"What?" His mom asked, surprised. "What brought this on?"

"I really don't want to talk about it, mom," Chad sighed. "I just want to go back to school and get out of this town."

"Okay," his mom nodded. "Just drive safely, okay?" He nodded then she left the room.

Chad groaned when his stepdad came into the room a few minutes later.

"What's up, Chad?" Paul asked him. "Your mom said that you and Taylor broke up."

"I also told her I didn't want to talk about it," Chad muttered.

Ten minutes later, Chad had all his things packed back in his car thanks to Paul's help.

"I really wish you'd at least stay for dinner," his mom said, touching his face. "Or wait until tomorrow when you and Taylor get a chance to talk this through and-"

"Delilah, just let him go," Paul said, touching her arm. "We have to believe that Chad knows what is best for him and if he thinks it's going back to school now, we can't argue."

Chad's mom nodded and gave Chad a hug before ushering Sabra back into the house.

"Get yourself something to eat," Paul said, handing Chad some cash. "And drive safely."

"Thanks," Chad said. He hesitated for a second then gave his step-dad a hug. "I'll call when I get back to school."

The traffic was heavier as Chad made his way back to Tucson with all the holiday travelers on the roadway. He finally reached the dorms a little before midnight and decided he didn't want to go back to his room just yet. He grabbed a basketball from his trunk then headed to the basketball courts. As he neared them, he saw a lone figure sitting on the bench. Getting closer, he recognized that it was Greer.

"Hey," he said, startling her. "Sorry."

"Chad!" She exclaimed, clutching her heart. "Don't do that."

"What are you doing here?" Chad asked as he sat down next to her on the bench. "It's not safe for a girl to be out here by herself at night."

"Owen proposed to Callie this afternoon at her parents," Greer informed him. "What about you, aren't you supposed to be at home?"

"I ended things with Taylor," Chad replied. "I've been kidding myself for the last year about her." He shook his head. "She has a boyfriend and she didn't even tell me."

"I'm sorry," Greer said. "I know how much she meant to you."

"You, too," Chad said, wrapping his arm around her after she laid her head on his shoulder. "Guess we're a couple brokenhearted fools."

"Uh huh," Greer nodded. "But there has to be someone for us out there, right?"

"I hope so," Chad sighed. "But at the same time, I'm afraid of getting my heart broken again."

"Me, too," Greer said.

"On a happier note, I have a present in my car from Sabra for you," he told her. "And I'm supposed to invite you to her birthday party in January, but you don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Depends, does the before or after party include a trip to the Albuquerque Zoo?" Greer asked him.

"It might," he replied.

"Then sure, I'd love to come," Greer said.

"Do you want to play some basketball?" Chad asked after several minutes.

"I thought you'd never ask," Greer said. She grabbed the basketball from between his feet and ran out to the middle of the court. "If I make this three-pointer, you're playing without your shirt."

"And if you miss, you're skins," Chad grinned then frowned when she sank the ball. "It's on now."


	20. Chapter 20

Ally here - can you guys believe we are just 12 short days from the release of HSM3?! I'm soooo wickedly excited for the movie! I can't wait to see what craziness the Wildcats get themselves into this time around! Though the scene I'm dying to see the most is the Boys Are Back dance number. It's going to be off the hook!

Anyway, in honor of the new movie coming out in a few days I put a new layout up on the website for OTR, so be sure to check that out. Esp if you think Chad and Troy (and Corbin and Zac) are fine as all getout!

Thanks as always to the lovelies, MUW D'Bellegirl, LoveIsLost29 and Gorgeous Nick Stokes, who reviewed the last chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 20**

"Chad, what are you doing here?" Troy asked as he opened the door and walked slowly into the room. Chad was sitting on Troy's bed, staring at nothing in particular. The look on his best friend's face told him that something was terribly wrong, but Troy couldn't imagine what it would be, especially if it was something bad enough to make Chad miss him mom's Thanksgiving dinner. If there was one thing in the world Chad loved, it was his mom's pumpkin pie, and only something dire would make him miss it.

"Tay and I broke up, like… completely," Chad sighed, his voice hardly above a whisper. It was then that Troy noticed that Chad's eyes looked a little red and puffy, and Troy knew better than to say much else.

"I'm sorry, man," Troy said, trying very hard to sound like he meant it. In reality, Troy was thrilled. Ever since Taylor and Chad had started dating in high school, Taylor had gone from being assertive and intelligent to being brash and frankly, kind of slutty. Drama followed her wherever she went and Troy was very glad that Chad wasn't going to have to deal with it on a regular basis any more. But at the same time, he knew that Chad still had feelings for Taylor despite their fuck buddy status and this had to be insanely hard on him.

Chad sighed and headed over to climb up to his bed where he laid down facing the wall, shoes on and all. Troy contemplated watching TV or working on some homework, but decided to leave again and give Chad some more privacy. Piper had just kicked him out of her room so she could get things done before the days' festivities began. But since it was still pretty early and almost everything on campus was closed due to the holiday, Piper was his only option of something to do.

"Yes?" Piper asked, answering the phone in her typical way. Troy rolled his eyes and continued to walk back across campus towards Piper and Greer's apartment.

"Can I come back over for a bit?"

"Didn't I just get rid of you?" she asked and when he didn't reply she continued, "I don't know… I'm busy, Troy."

"You don't have to entertain me, I just need to get out of my room for awhile. Chad's back. He and Taylor broke up and he needs some time alone."

"What, to cry?" she asked.

"Piper!" Troy scolded, "Come on, it's my best friend."

She sighed loudly before going on. "Fine, he's going to be very manly and grieve the loss of his fuck buddy stoically. I bet he's handling it a lot better than you would if I sent your sorry ass packing."

"Hey!" Troy exclaimed before pausing, "… You'd better not…"

"Well, the length of this situation is directly proportional to how much you annoy me, so behave yourself and you'll be fine." Troy grumbled something under his breath and made a face. A girl walking past him gave him a weird look and he caught himself, gave her a fake smile, and pointed to the phone as if to explain himself. The look she gave him only got more exaggerated after that.

"Can I come back over or not?" Troy demanded, now thoroughly annoyed with her.

"Fine, just don't bug me. I'm working on a project and I have to finish it before I go to my parents' at two." And with that the line went dead. Troy finished the walk to Piper and Greer's place replaying his conversation with Piper over and over in his head. No matter how much more he got to know about her, she was still a mystery to him. An annoying, sexy, addicting mystery.

He found the front door unlocked and he let himself in and headed upstairs, finding that Greer wasn't around as she had been when he had left just thirty minutes before. Piper was working at her desktop computer on something she immediately minimized when he walked through the door.

"So, whatcha working on?" he asked, standing behind her desk chair and putting his hands on her shoulders, giving them a squeeze.

"None of your business," she sassed, swiveling her chair around to face him. Before he could move out of her range, she planted both hands on his chest and shoved him backwards. He took a staggering step backwards and the backs of his knees collided with the edge of her bed, sending him toppling backwards onto her black bedspread. She stood and shoved her pajama pants to the ground and pulled her tank top over her head before sauntering over to him. "But, you'd better tell Chad to get over his mope-fest really fast because I need him for a project I'm working on."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, not really caring about the answer as she climbed to straddle him, her fingertips inching under his shirt, seeking out his hard stomach.

"Yeah, he's perfect for it, so when he's done sniffling you need to send him-"

"Can we not talk about Chad when you're naked?" Troy asked, putting his hand over her mouth to silence her. When she tried to keep talking, mumbling into his skin, he removed his hand and kissed her instead.

Several hours later, Troy drug himself out of Piper's bed and headed back over to his dorm to shower and get ready for what he was expecting to be an insanely uncomfortable meal. He had begged Chad to come along. Chad hadn't exactly refused, he just hadn't responded period, annoying Troy so much that he slammed the door on his way out. If he hadn't been so annoyed, he would have probably felt bad. Unfortunately, his phone started ringing in his pocket, distracting him from any guilt he was about to experience. His dad wanted to know where he was and why he wasn't in the car yet, so Troy bolted down the stairs and was in the backseat of his parents' Range Rover in less than a minute.

They arrived at the Scott residence and Troy found himself surprised at the home where Piper and Braeden, two of the biggest sarcastic smartasses he'd ever met, had been raised. The entire house was decorated with warm colors and comfortable furniture. He didn't know what he'd expected, but this wasn't it. As he paused in front of the fireplace in the living room, he had to bite back a laugh at the family portrait on the mantle. The sight of Piper and Braeden sitting there with innocent looking smiles on their faces was one of the most laughable things he'd seen in a long time.

"Hello there, Boltons," Piper grinned as she walked in the room dressed in a dark brown shirt dress and knee high leather boots to match. Troy had to fight the urge to reach out and grab her and the thought of doing so flew right out of his head as his dad nudged him with his elbow.

And it begins, Troy thought though he wanted to say it out loud.

"Hi Piper," Troy said instead and she gave him a sweet, un-Piper smile back.

"Hi Troy. It's been forever," she said before turning to his parents, "Everyone's hanging out in the kitchen, so go on in. It's through that doorway and to the right."

"Will do! Thanks Piper," Troy's dad said, winking at Troy before leading the way out of the room. Troy lingered behind, wanting a second alone with her.

"Did your dad just wink at you?" she asked.

"Please don't ask," Troy groaned and she leaned forward and kissed him, much too passionately considering anyone could walk in at any second. Her hand slid its way to the back his neck for just a moment, pulling him even closer before releasing him.

"Geez, get off of me," she said, giving him a little shove before following the path his parents had just taken. Once he had calmed himself down enough to be presentable, he went the same way.

"What took you so long, Troy?" Coach Carver asked, raising an eyebrow in Troy's direction.

"Bathroom," Troy lied quickly; a little too quickly he instantly realized. His dad cleared his throat from his spot next to Coach Carver's and Troy didn't bother looking. He knew exactly the look his dad would be giving him and he didn't want to see it. Piper surprised the hell out of him by sitting down next to him, her foot immediately working its way up the leg of his khakis. Troy wanted to sigh out loud about the insanity of his situation- his fuck buddy groping him under the table, his father winking and making little faces at him every ten seconds, and his coach looking questioningly at him the entire time. Instead of paying any attention to the situation, however, he just distracted him by talking to Braeden and eating as much food as his stomach could handle.

Once dinner was finished, he was seated in the living room talking to Braeden, Greer, Hetta, Iden, and Piper when the doorbell rang. Braeden shot up and ran to the door to answer it, his socks allowing him to slide across the hardwood floor in the entryway all the way to the door.

"Owen, Callie! Happy Thanksgiving!" he said to them. All three of them were still out of view and because of that Greer looked at Piper with a panicked look on her face.

"Piper, I have to get out of here," she whispered before leaving the room and heading into the kitchen. Piper looked at him, obviously confused about what was going on, and then followed her out of the room leaving Troy alone with Greer's stepsisters.

"So Troy," Iden said, readjusting herself so her breasts were pushed towards him, "You play on Dad's basketball team, right?" Troy sighed and stood up.

"I have to go talk to my dad," he said politely before leaving, actually heading out to look for Piper and Greer. After he got past the table of parents, which included his dad pulling him down to whisper something in his ear, most of which he managed to ignore, he found them sitting out on the back porch.

"Hey guys, what's-" he started, but when he saw that Greer was crying and Piper was sitting next to her consoling her, he decided to just stop and go back inside. He heard Greer call him back out, but he got distracted by his parents telling him it was time to leave. Mrs. Scott fixed two plates for Chad at Greer's insistence once they came back in, one of which consisted only of three pieces of pumpkin pie. After thanking the Scotts for their generosity and Troy getting his ass pinched by Piper on his way out the door, they were finally gone.

"You have some very nice friends, Troy," his mom said. Troy gave her a smile and rubbed his now sore right butt cheek discreetly before getting in the car with Chad's food. His parents dropped him off at his room, telling him to spend the evening with Chad to make sure he was doing okay. Troy agreed and told them he would see them tomorrow evening before the game. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with his parents, but they wanted to spend pretty much every second of their visit with him and he wanted to take advantage of having a few days without school to relax and do whatever he wanted. He found Chad sitting at his desk staring at the computer. His hand wasn't even on the mouse.

"Hey, man. I brought you some food. The pie isn't quite your mom's, but it's good. Mrs. Scott hooked you up," Troy told him, dropping the food down on Chad's desk. Chad looked up, startled at the sudden noise.

"Oh… thanks," he replied, not even looking at the food before returning his gaze to what Troy now realized was Taylor's Facebook page.

"Chad, you have to stop this," Troy demanded, reaching forward to shut off Chad's monitor, "You're driving yourself crazy."

"Leave me alone," Chad grumbled, turning the monitor back on and shooting a death glare at Troy.

"Sorry, can't do that. I'm your best friend. So you're going to go take a shower and then you're going to eat this food. After that, I don't give a shit what you do. Stare at pictures of her making out with other guys until you go blind for all I care," Troy told him, shutting off the monitor again and pulling Chad's desk chair back until the computer was out of his reach. Chad glared at him again before getting up, grabbing his shower stuff, and stomping out the door. Troy sighed and opened the windows, airing out the room before sticking the plate of turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes in the microwave so it would be hot when Chad came back. As soon as that task was complete, he got out his phone and texted Piper the simple message "save me!" before turning on the TV.

Chad came back about twenty minutes later, practically inhaled the contents of both plates, and then went back to staring at his computer.

"You want to watch a movie or something?" Troy asked and when Chad ignored him, he just put in "Wedding Crashers" and got settled in. If Chad wanted to act like a big baby, there was nothing he could do to stop him. He'd get over it when he felt like it and when he did, he'd come to Troy. The same thing had happened to them in the past, albeit on a much smaller level, but Troy had a feeling the ending would be the same in this situation. He watched the movie until he fell asleep and didn't wake up again until his cell phone started ringing the next morning.

"What?" he asked the caller, not even bothering to look and see who it was.

"You need to get off your pretty little butt and come join me. My mother has sent me out in charge of buying cheap Christmas presents and while I'd rather die, I'm assuming that everything will be picked over already anyway since it's almost eleven," Piper said.

"Eleven?" he groaned, pushing himself into a sitting position and looking at the clock. True to her word, it said 10:53am and the stiffness of his muscles told him that she was definitely right. He had been sleeping for over twelve hours, something he hadn't done in months.

"Yup. Ready to go?" she asked and before he could respond, someone started knocking on the door. It was such an annoying, persistent knock, he knew it had to be Piper.

"Just come in," he mumbled into the phone before hanging it up. She did as instructed and Troy felt himself being physically removed from his bed and shoved into the hallway.

"We're leaving in twenty minutes, so I suggest you shower quickly," she stated, pushing his shower bag into his chest before shutting the door. He didn't even want to know what she was going to do while he was in the shower, especially since Chad was still sleeping, so he showered fast and got dressed, trying to ignore the fact that Piper was standing there watching him the entire time. He fixed his hair and was shoving his wallet in his back pocket just as Piper's cell phone alarm started to ring. "Twenty minutes. Not too bad, Mr. Six Points."

"How long are you going to call me that?"

"Until you score more than that. Duh," she shrugged before leading the way out of the room. Troy looked up at the lightly snoring lump under the covers in Chad's bed and sighed before shutting the door.

"So where are we going?" Troy asked once they were seated in Piper's car.

"To Walmart of all places," she sighed, "She found a bunch of things which she so conveniently highlighted in the ad for me to find. I don't know why she can't do this herself. But every year I get sent on this errand."

"Whoa! All these movies are only five bucks?" he asked, staring at the ad in disbelief.

"They'll all be gone already, trust me. The fiends in this city take everything good by six. I pretended to be hungover from all the wine I drank last night and that's the only reason why I wasn't out with all the crazies."

"And why have I been volunteered to go along?" Troy asked.

"Because I need a chaperone. Otherwise, I might kill someone." They finally found a parking space after driving up and down the aisles for a good ten minutes looking for something closer than the last space. Piper was already adorably grumpy by the time they got in the store.

"If we split up we might get through this faster," he suggested, flipping through the ad. She snatched it from his fingers and shot him a disapproving look.

"The whole point of bringing you here is so I can get through this without losing it. How is that going to work if you're off on the other side of the store?"

"Okay fine. Let's start with the video games she wants. I'm assuming these are for Braeden?"

"Assume away," she smirked, snagging a cart and heading for the back of the store.

"Hey, there's the TA from my Biology class," Troy said, pointing to the thin brunette girl looking at the frozen pizza.

"Yeah? I'll bet there aren't a lot of guys paying attention in there with her tits hanging out all over the place," Piper said, rolling her eyes, not stopping the cart and continuing their trek towards electronics. They were standing there sifting through a huge bin of discounted Playstation 2 games when all of the color drained from Piper's face.

"Piper, what's wrong?" he asked, reaching out to touch her arm. She shushed him and tried to turn away.

"Piper?" a male voice from the other side of the aisle asked. Troy saw her take a deep shuddering breath before turning to face the speaker, who Troy now saw to be a tall guy with blonde shaggy hair standing with his TA.

"Hi Preston," she said stiffly, yet nicely. Troy felt her take a tiny step towards him.

"I thought you hated shopping the day after Thanksgiving," Preston said, sounding equally uncomfortable.

"I do. I'm doing a favor for my mom."

"Oh? How is she?"

"Fantastic," Piper said simply and Troy felt her move closer yet. Troy's TA nudged Preston in the side and he smiled as if to apologize.

"I'm so rude," he laughed lightly, "Piper, this is my wife Amber."

"Wife?" Piper blurted before correcting herself, "Well, it's very nice to meet you. This is my boyfriend, Troy." It took every ounce of self-control for Troy to not look questioningly at Piper the second the word spilled from her lips.

"Aren't you in my morning Bio class?" Amber asked Troy.

"I am," Troy said, not knowing what else to say, especially as he felt Piper's fingers slide in between his own. The grip on his hand was almost painful and he fought to maintain a cool expression.

"Your freshman Biology class?" Preston asked Amber and she nodded. Preston looked at Piper and her grip on Troy's hand tightened further.

"Yeah, Troy's been starting for the basketball team. He's excellent," Piper said.

"Sounds great. Good for you," Preston said sincerely enough.

"We should get going," Amber said, the sense of urgency in her voice obvious. Preston nodded.

"It was good to see you, Piper," Preston said, "And nice to meet you, Troy."

"Likewise," Troy said and with Piper, watched them walk away. He almost opened his mouth to make fun of her for calling him her boyfriend when he heard her make a little strangled sound. When he looked down at her, he saw that she was crying. "Piper?"

"Don't."

"No, what's wrong?"

"Just shut up!" she sniffed, wiping the stray tears from her face, "We have a lot of stuff to get." Troy wanted to know why she was crying. In fact, he couldn't remember a time he had wanted the ability to see into another person's thoughts as badly as he wanted it at that exact moment. But the look on her face when she'd let down her barrier for that one second, how broken she had looked, told him that it was best to let it go. They got as many things from her mom's wish list as were still available, and an hour later, they were driving silently back to Troy's dorm. Troy didn't dare say anything or turn on the radio. Piper, like Chad, would talk to him when she was ready to.

"Preston is my ex-boyfriend," she finally said, "We dated from the beginning of my freshman year through the end of my sophomore year. And get this, he was my Biology TA during my first semester here."

"So that's why he looked at you when he found out I was in Amber's freshman Biology class?"

"Yup," she said, her knuckles so tight on the steering wheel he thought she might actually hurt herself, "After we broke up, he moved to California. I hadn't seen him since he left me sitting at the restaurant after he proposed to me and I said that I wasn't ready. I was only nineteen! I wasn't ready to be someone's wife, but I still wanted to be with him. I was still in love with him and sure, maybe some day I would have been ready. But when I said that I wasn't ready, he said that he couldn't be with me any more and he left. When I went to his house the next day, his roommates said he'd taken off. He didn't answer my phone calls or respond to my e-mails for over six months. And even then, all he said was that he was sorry, and that when I'd said no it had just made him realize what a mistake he was making and how he hadn't been making the best decisions for his life. His only option, he said, was to move away and to start over. That he couldn't be around me any more."

"Oh my god…" Troy said, not really knowing what else to say in response to the amount of information being dumped on him.

"Yeah, and I'm totally over him and have been. I just freaked out because when I saw him I got all emotional and it pissed me off. I don't want to have any reaction to him any more, but apparently, I still do. So fuck him and his stupid fake-titted wife," she said brushing another stray tear from her cheek, "You stay away from her!"

"I will, trust me," he said, "Plus, she looks like the kind of girl who has crabs." Piper looked at him for a second before cracking up.

"She does, doesn't she?" she laughed. They rode on for awhile in silence.

"Why did you call me your boyfriend?" Troy asked.

She laughed strangely. "Like I could stand there next to my ex and introduce you as what, my booty call? I don't think so." Troy nodded and looked out at the road, not completely sold. He didn't think that Piper thought of him as her boyfriend, but it was pretty clear that the fact that she had called him that was shaking her up a bit. She dropped him off at his dorm room and he headed inside to get ready for the game. He fully expected Chad to still be in bed, but when Troy opened the door, he found Chad sitting there watching TV with Braeden. Chad gave him a smile and a nod that Troy knew was as much of an apology as he was going to get and for the moment, that was fine.

"How was shopping with Her Royal Heinousness?" Braeden asked, helping himself to another handful of popcorn.

"We saw this guy named Preston," Troy said and Braeden stopped chewing and just stared at Troy.

"Are you fucking with me?"

"How would I possibly know that name to mess with you if it hadn't happened? You think Piper would have offered up that story all on her own?" Troy asked.

"Is she okay?" Braeden asked and Troy shrugged.

"I don't know. I think she will be."

"I should go see her," Braeden said, and before Chad or Troy could reply, he was out the door.

"What was that all about?" Chad asked. Troy could have told him and Chad never would have repeated it to a soul, but Piper's story seemed far too personal to share. He knew that not many people knew about what she has just told him and he wanted to make sure that kept her trust, why he wasn't exactly sure.

"Long story," was all he said and Chad seemed to accept that. "I'm going to get my stuff ready for the game." As he got his stuff all organized, he couldn't help but hope that despite everything that had happened, he was able to keep his head in the game.


	21. Chapter 21

Hello everyone! Cate here with an update! Please don't die of shock. We know that it's been a ridiculously long time since we posted the last chapter. But, we're back and have the next several chapters all mapped out so hopefully new updates will be coming much more quickly! Thanks so much to LoveIsLost29, MUW D'Bellegirl, and laxgirl14 for the reviews of the latest chapter! You guys are the best!!

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**Chapter 21**

Thanksgiving Day passed in a haze for Chad. Usually a big holiday fan-who always knew what channel and time a parade was going to be on TV-he didn't feel like celebrating anything. He felt like crawling under his covers, pulling the comforter over his head and staying there until he died, but since that required moving and lots of effort, he stayed on his side, staring at the wall in front of him.

His head was still having a hard time comprehending that things were over between him and Taylor. His aching heart and his itchy, red eyes knew it was true. The two sides of his brain were at war with themselves. One part was telling him that he had done the right thing, finally standing up to Taylor, but the other part was telling him that he had completely fucked up by telling her that they were over completely. He didn't know which side to believe.

He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he was woken up when Troy came into the room. Not in the mood to talk, he had ignored his best friend and his begs to come to dinner with his family. He flinched at the sound of the door slamming and didn't move until he heard the sound of his cell phone ringing. He really didn't want to talk to anybody, but he knew if it was his mom and he ignored the phone call that Troy's parents would be called and asked to check on him and that was the last thing he wanted. He climbed down from his bed and grabbed his cell phone and after seeing that it was his mom, he flipped the phone open and answered, "Hey mom."

"How are you doing?" He could hear the concern in her voice; obviously she had been in contact with Troy's parents and knew he hadn't joined them for dinner.

"Alright, I guess."

"I wish you were home so I could help you through this."

"Mom, I'm 18 and a band-aid and kiss on the cheek won't heal my broken heart."

"I know, sweetie." There was a pause on the phone and Chad heard somebody talking to her in the background. "Well, baby boy, everybody here sends their love and I'm mailing you a pie on Monday morning."

"Thanks mom."

"I love you, Chad."

"I love you, too, mom."

After hanging up, he sat down at his desk and stared at his blank computer screen. He felt guilty for splitting on his family, especially following the news that he was to become an older brother again. It totally blew his mind that he would be 19 by the time the baby was born. There would be a bigger age gap between Chad and his younger brother or sister than there was between he and his mom. Hell, _he _was old enough to be the baby's father… that would make for some interesting conversations at the mall. Whenever he and Taylor would take Sabra some where, they were almost always stopped and told how cute their daughter was.

_Taylor_.

Chad sighed and rested his head on his hand. He had gone a few minutes without thinking about her and had almost felt normal, but the heartache returned the second her name crossed his mind.

Hoping to distract himself, he booted up his computer and surfed pointless websites. But not even the stupidest youtube videos could take his mind off of Taylor. Without thinking, he logged on to his facebook and came face to face with the worst news:

_Taylor McKessie is now in a relationship with Joe Greene._

Chad clicked on Joe's name but because he wasn't in Joe's network, he couldn't see anything but Joe's profile picture and he looked like a meathead. Taylor obviously had lowered her standards when it came to her joke of a new boyfriend.

He returned to Taylor's profile page and clicked on the photos tab. He found himself clicking on picture after picture trying to figure out how he hadn't figured out about Taylor's relationship with _meathead_. It was all there in pictures, making out at parties, cuddled up in bed and lots of post-sex haired Taylor.

So caught up in the confusion brought on by images, Chad didn't hear Troy come into the room until his best friend dropped two plates of food on his desk. His best friend looked at him expectantly and Chad realized he had missed whatever Troy had said to him. "Oh… thanks." He sure hoped that Troy had said something about the food.

Then the war over the monitor began and ended with Chad storming out of the room with his shower stuff, fuming over Troy over stepping his boundaries. Who was he to tell Chad how he should act and what he should and shouldn't do following his break up with Taylor? Troy had only broken up with one girl and that girl had been Gabriella. He knew it had to have been hard on Troy, but it was a break up that he and Gabriella had discussed and decided it was for the best. She hadn't played with his heart for 9 months then break up with him to be with a meathead.

He took his time showering, in no real hurry to go back to the room he shared with his know-it-all best friend. He had a fleeting thought that Troy had his best interest at heart as he dried off. But he was mad and hurt and Troy was the sorry sucker who would unfairly get his wrath.

Chad returned to their room and ate the food Troy had brought back for him, not realizing how hungry he had been until he forked the last piece of pumpkin pie in his mouth and felt full for the first time since he had eaten at lunch yesterday with his mom and sister. It seemed unreal that it had only been twenty-four hours since his world had spun out of control.

Licking the pumpkin pie filling off the fork, Chad turned back to his computer monitor clicked on the tagged pictures of Taylor and his heart stopped when he saw pictures from before their first break up. Gabriella had put up the pictures of the four of them that his mom had taken before the winter formal and they had all looked extremely happy. Then there were pictures from the Valentine's dance, prom and graduation. Chad felt tears spring to his eyes as he found a picture of him with his arms wrapped around Taylor with her leaning back against him.

He turned in his seat to talk to Troy, but found his best friend passed out on top of his blankets. He grabbed a Kleenex from the box on his desk and dried his eyes before he turned off the TV. He climbed up on to his bed and cried himself to sleep.

Morning came too early and violently for Chad's liking. One minute he was peacefully sleeping and the next he was being shaken like there was an earthquake. Then he started getting hit with a pillow.

"Fuck off, Troy," he grumbled. He shot up when he was hit again. "I said fuck off- Piper?"

"Morning," she greeted, putting Troy's pillow back on his bed.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He asked. "I was sleeping."

"Yeah, I know," she said.

"Where's Troy?"

"Showering, he's going shopping with me."

Chad looked at the clock and saw that it was five minutes after eleven. "And you woke me up, because…"

"I need your help with a project for my photography class," she stated.

"Nope, sorry, ain't gonna happen," he shook his head. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to sleep."

Chad was woken up again an hour later when Braeden came into his room.

"Alright, dude, up and at 'em," his friend ordered.

"Ugh, what is with you and your sister?" Chad groaned as Braeden started shaking the bunk bed as Piper had done earlier. "Why can't you leave me alone?"

"I don't know why my sister was bugging you, but I promised my dad I'd check on you after he got a phone call from your mom and Troy's mom," Braeden stated. "You've got everyone worried about you man."

"My mom and Troy's mom called?" Braeden nodded and Chad groaned. "If the guys on the team hear about this-"

"Nobody will hear about it," Braeden assured him. "It's between you, me and my dad. Nobody else has to know."

"Thanks," Chad replied.

"Well, I'm going to go back to my room," Braeden said. "I'll call my dad and let him know-"

"Actually, do you want to watch a movie?" Chad asked him. "I don't really feel like being alone right now."

"Yeah sure," Braeden nodded. "I'll be right back." He returned a couple seconds later with a big holiday tin decorated with snowflakes. "An early Christmas present from Savy." He opened it and revealed three different types of popcorn-caramel, cheese and buttered. "Help yourself."

They munched on the popcorn through a movie and half a TV show before Troy returned from his shopping trip with Piper. He knew he owed Troy an apology for the way he acted, but he didn't want to say anything in front of Braeden so he just gave his from a small smile and a nod.

The exchange that followed between Braeden and Troy left Chad in the dark, but he understood that it wasn't any of his business. Sure he was curious about whoever Preston was, but Troy would tell him if it was really important. He turned his attention back to the TV and let his best friend go through his pregame routine in silence.

"You coming to the game tonight?" Troy asked, pausing by the door before leaving.

"No, but good luck," Chad replied.

"Okay, thanks," Troy nodded. He was closing the door when he heard Chad call his name. He stuck his head back inside and looked at his friend.

"Thanks," Chad said.

"No problem," Troy replied.

Chad leaned against Troy's bed and watched the Spongebob marathon on Nickelodeon for another hour before deciding to go to the caf and get something to eat. He changed into a pair of jeans and was putting on a coat when a knock echoed through the room. He pulled on his tennis shoes then opened the door to see Greer standing on the other side.

"Hey," she smiled. "How are you doing?"

"A little better," he replied, stepping aside letting her into the room. "You?"

"Better," she said.

"I'm glad," he smiled, taking in her red leather jacket. "That new?"

"Yeah, I did some retail therapy with my mom and sisters this morning," she said. "Probably spent more than I should have, but it helped a little."

"Have you eaten?" He asked her. "I was headed to the caf and if you don't have the money, I could spot you dinner."

"Actually, I was hoping you'd come with me to the basketball game," she chewed on her lower lip.

"I don't have a ticket and being with a big crowd doesn't sound like fun," he replied.

"I have an extra ticket," she said, holding up two tickets. "But if you don't want to go it's fine…it's just that…"

"It's just what?" He asked, seeing a side of Greer he'd never seen before. She usually oozed a quiet self-confidence, but she looked like a ball of nerves.

"Owen usually goes to the day after Thanksgiving game with me," she said. "But this year he's… we'll he's going with Callie…and I wouldn't go, except my dad, he-"

Chad wrapped his arms around her and she cried on his shoulder. She pulled out of his embrace a few minutes later and used the back of her hand to dry her tears.

"Sorry," she said, shaking her head as she forced a smile on her face.

"It's okay," he smiled. "Let me change sweat shirts and we'll go to the game."

Once he had changed they headed to the game and he waited in the lobby for her to go in the bathroom and fix her makeup. Then they headed into the already crowded gym and sat down by Braeden and Piper. Chad noted that Piper's usually sharp appearance seemed dulled down and she and Greer exchanged an extra long hug.

Though he didn't feel like being at the game at first, Chad soon found himself cheering on the Wildcats with the rest of the crowd. Part of him wished he was out there on the court playing basketball with Troy like old times, but his best friend was in his element. He cringed as a much taller player fouled Troy, sending him flying into the cheerleaders. But after a quick word with Coach Carver, Troy took his place at the foul line and sunk two baskets-adding to the Wildcat's lead.

Troy scored nine points in the Wildcat's win, three of which came at a last second shot that put the Wildcat's win margin at 20 points. Thirty minutes after the game, he exited the locker room and found his friends waiting for him.

"You came," he said as he and Chad did their hand shake.

"Yeah," Chad nodded. "You were awesome, man."

"Thanks," Troy smiled.

"Alright, you two, stop with the lovey dovey stuff," Braeden rolled his eyes. "We have a party to get to."

"Actually, I think I'm going to skip the party," Greer said.

"Yeah me too," Chad added.

"Alright, whatever, your loss," Braeden shook his head. He started walking away with Savy.

"Come on, Mr. Six Pointer," Piper said, taking Troy's hand. "We're going to go do a shot for every point you scored."

"Hey, you said you wouldn't call me that if I scored more," Troy said as Piper pulled him away leaving Chad and Greer standing alone.

"So, you wanna go get something to eat?" Chad asked her.

"Actually, I was going to go home and watch a movie," Greer replied. "But you're welcome to join me."

"Okay, sure," Chad nodded.

"Piper's mom sent us home with a bunch of turkey last night," Greer informed him. "And mashed potatoes and gravy, you can eat as much of it as you want."

They walked to her apartment and Chad loaded a plate with left over Thanksgiving dinner and at it quickly, wanting to fill his body rather than savor the taste. After finishing his dinner, he washed the plate he had used then went into Greer's room where she told him she'd be waiting.

"So what movie are we going to watch?" He asked her.

"You can pick," she replied, gesturing to the DVD rack next to her TV.

He looked through the DVDs and noted the wide variety of movies-everything from Superbad to Pretty In Pink to The Notebook. In the mood for something funny he pulled Superbad off the shelf and put it in the DVD player as she directed. She shut down her computer and turned off the over head light then climbed onto her bed.

"You can sit up here with me, if you'd like," she informed him when she saw him sitting on the floor.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah," she nodded and spotted the spot next to her.

Chad smiled and kicked off his shoes before laying down on the bed next to her. He leaned against the overstuffed pillows and watched the movie.

The next thing Chad remembered was a dream where he was running through a field of wildflowers, he could see Taylor's face off in the distance and he wanted to get to her, but she got farther away as he ran. Then the lightning started, it started far away then moved in closer until suddenly it was on him.

Chad shot up in bed with a scream and blinked when he saw a bright light go off again. With a large flash spot blurring his vision, he glared in the direction of the camera and the person behind it. That's when he realized he wasn't in his bed, he was in Greer's.

"Smile," he heard Piper's all too cheerful voice.

"Fuck off," he snapped. "Where's Greer?"

"Iden had a boy emergency," Piper shrugged before taking another picture of him.

"Seriously, Piper, I told you no," he said as he stood up on the bed.

"Yeah, I know," she stated. "But I need your help and since you wouldn't pose, I'm going for the candid angle. Unless, of course, you want to change your mind."

"Piper," he sighed.

"Chad, you can make this easy on yourself by just agreeing to help me out," she stated. "Because I can make it difficult if you want me to."

"Why should I help you?" Chad asked her. "You're not exactly the nicest person I know."

"Because it'll help you too," she said as she sat down on the bed so she was facing him. "I know how you're feeling right now, Chad, believe it or not. I've had my heart broken before and felt like my whole world was going to cave in on me." She sniffed. "I let six months of my life go by hoping that he would come back to me and it was the worst six months of my life, Chad. I'm not going to let you go through that."

Chad stared at her in disbelief. Who knew deep down Piper actually had a heart?

"Now come on, are you going to help me help you or not?" She asked, sniffing again.

"Fine," he gave in. "But I don't pose well…"

"Good thing you don't have to pose," she stated. "Go get dressed, we have people waiting."

"Dressed in what?" He asked as she shoved him into Greer's bathroom. There he found a pair of his baseball pants, a wifebeater and a button down baseball shirt. He prayed to God that it had been Troy who had gotten the stuff for her; the thought of her going through his closet freaked him out.

"Finally," she stated when he came out of the bathroom dressed. "I swear you and Troy take forever to get ready."

She shoved him out the front door then drove him the university's baseball and softball fields.

"What are we doing here?" He asked as he picked up his baseball bat and mitt he'd found in her car and followed her.

"This is where I'm taking your picture," she replied. "And here comes your background."

Chad turned and found 14 girls standing behind him with smiles on their faces. He turned back to Piper confused.

"Chad, meet the softball team; girls, meet Chad," she said simply. "Let's play ball."

Soon Chad found himself at home plate taking batting practice from the star pitcher. He let a few whiz past him before he attempted a swing. He managed to hit a few, but hitting softballs was way different than hitting a baseball.

"Hold on," he heard Piper call. "Take your undershirt off, Chad, and leave the top shirt unbuttoned." He stared at her. "Now."

He shook his head and set his bat down as he pulled off his button down shirt then pulled his wifebeater off and dropped it on the ground before putting the other shirt back on. He stepped up to the plate feeling slightly exposed. He took a few more pitches then Piper sent the girls to get a drink.

"Having fun yet?" She asked him.

"No," he stated.

She rolled her eyes. "Pick a girl."

"Excuse me?" He stared at her in shock.

"Just pick a girl," she repeated.

"Fine," he tried to remember where each girl had played. "The second baseman, I guess."

"Alright, grab your shirt and let's go," she said. "2B come with us. The rest of you, thanks for your help."

Chad and the girl who had played second base followed Piper to the baseball diamond.

"Now what?" He asked her.

"I want you to pitch," Piper informed him. "That is what you're good at, right?"

"Well, ya, but I'm not warmed up," he stated. "Your dad would kill me if I threw when I wasn't warmed up."

"Then warm up," she said before walking away.

He could hear her snapping pictures of him as he stretched. He still felt uncomfortable with his current state of undress; though he was very happy she hadn't asked him to take off more. He would have said no to that.

When he was finally warmed up, he took the mound and the softball player took her place at home plate with a bat in hand. He tossed her an easy pitch then ducked when she sent the ball flying over his head. She sent him a smirk that said 'is that all you got?' and he took the challenge.

Thirty pitches later, Piper declared the photoshoot over and left, leaving Chad alone with the softball player.

"I'm Rachel," she said, pulling her ash brown hair back into a pony tail.

"Chad, but you already knew that," he said, holding onto his gear.

They talked for a few minutes and after finding out they lived in the same building, they headed for the dorms.

"So what was this photo shoot for anyway?" Rachel asked him.

"I have no idea," he shook his head. "Probably one of Piper's crazy ideas."

"Well it was nice meeting you," Rachel said when they entered the building. "I'll see you around, Chad."

Chad waved goodbye then headed up the stairs to his floor. He entered the hall and found Troy's parents standing outside his and Troy's room.

"Chad! There you are," Troy's mom said. "Where have you been?"

"Baseball field," Chad shrugged; very glad he decided to put his undershirt back on. "What are you guys doing here?"

"I promised your mom that I would check on you," Troy's mom said. She grabbed his face and studied him. "Your eyes look normal, you're not pale."

"I told you he was fine," Braeden said, coming out of his room.

"Have you eaten?" Troy's mom asked him.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded. "And like Braeden said, I'm fine."

"Alright, but you talk to somebody if you start feeling depressed," she said before giving him a hug. "Jack, I'll be waiting for you in the car."

Troy's dad waited until his wife was gone before he said, "You know, you might take advantage of Troy's arrangement with Piper and hook up with her best friend Greer. She's a pretty girl, too." He nudged Chad before he walked off.

"That man gives me the creeps," Braeden muttered and Chad just nodded.


	22. Chapter 22

Happy Holidays everyone! Cate and I just wanted to update OTR before the craziness that are the final days before Christmas set it. As of right now, I don't forsee another update in 2008, but you never know, inspiration can hit at the weirdest times. So just incase this is our last update of 2008, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year and we look forward to posting more of Troy, Chad, Piper and Greer's adventures for you in 2009.

Thanks to Gorgeous Nick Stokes for reviewing Chapter 21.

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**Chapter 22**

Troy walked alongside Chad towards a building he'd never stepped foot in during his time at the University of Arizona: the art building. His heart thudded in his chest, invitation to the opening of the latest show clutched in his hand. In a matter of minutes, he knew he was going to be looking at a series of photos Piper had taken of him. Shirtless. And occasionally wet. He hadn't even seen them and he was already embarrassed. He knew that he could count on Piper to make them tasteful and that she wouldn't put up anything too embarrassing because it would be embarrassing for _her_ as well, but he had never particularly liked being on display without a shirt on. Troy was well aware of the fact that he had a nice physique, one he had heard plenty of girly giggles at the pool or playing a game of shirts and skins with the guys, and he had never been a fan of that particular kind of attention. He was in good shape because it was good for his game and because working out made him feel good, _not_ because it gained him female attention.

"So, what am I going to be seeing here? Porn?" Chad asked and when Troy shot him a disgusted look, he continued, "It's a gallery full of _sensual_ photo shoots, Troy. It says so right _here_." Chad jabbed a finger towards the invitation in Troy's hand as if it prove his point.

"I have clothes on in all of them, so don't worry," Troy rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was Chad freaking out about the shoot as well. As they approached the building, they saw that Braeden and Greer were lurking outside right where they'd all agreed to meet.

"I can't believe I'm about to go look at the pictures that lead up to what I walked in on," Braeden said, shuddering over-exaggeratedly, adding one more thing for emphasis, "_Jackass_."

"Let's just go in and get this over with," Chad said.

"Some friends you guys are," Troy spat before grabbing the door's handle and pulling it open roughly. Greer was walking next to him a moment later and linked her arm through his.

"Piper's an amazing photographer and she hasn't let me see these, which lets me know they're something special. You have nothing to be worried about," she said reassuringly.

"I know that, I just don't want to get made fun of the entire time," he admitted. She patted his arm before releasing him from her hold.

"Yeah, good luck with that," she chuckled before turning to motion for Chad and Braeden to catch up. They found the show and Troy took a deep breath before they went in the entrance. The first hallway housed photos from two other photographers with lots of photos of mouths and hands touching skin. Troy wondered while looking how Piper might have cropped and edited his photos. Would they look like these? Would she have been kind enough to cut out the erection he was sure he was sporting in more than half of the photos. He bit back a groan at that thought and followed Greer who seemed more anxious than the other three to get to Piper's part of the exhibit. They rounded a corner and Troy saw Piper's beaming face. He could have spotted her anywhere because she seemed so out of character from the way he usually saw her. She was dressed beautifully in a black and white polka dot sweetheart dress and was chatting with a wide variety of people. It was clear that she was in the "charm" mode she hating having to use due to her father's job. Turned out she had to use it on her own as well.

"Well if it isn't the star of the show," she smiled in his direction once they'd reached her. Troy hadn't looked at the wall behind her yet, terrified to see what was there. She took a step forward and put her lips right next to his ear, "You can avoid looking all you want, but you're the only one in the room who isn't." He ventured a look around and found that she was exactly right. Everyone was looking at the pictures of him, including their three friends. Greer looked over to find them looking at her and came over to meet them, prompting Chad and Braeden to follow. Greer took Piper's shoulders in her hands and smiled at her.

"Oh honey," Greer said, tipping her head in Troy's direction, "Good for you."

"Shut up," Piper rolled her eyes, "Do you like them?"

"They're unbelievable. You're totally kicking the other photographers asses," Greer told her. Piper sighed contentedly.

"I am, aren't I?" she asked laughing. They stood there for another moment, Troy still refusing to look at the pictures of himself when Piper suddenly smacked Greer hard in the arm.

"What?" Greer asked, a flush spreading over her cheeks. Piper just narrowed her eyes at her and pushed her away.

"If you're going to ogle Troy, go do it over there."

"She wasn't _ogling_ him," Chad said, looking at the pictures on the wall and shaking his head.

"Yes she was, and you can't blame her," Piper said before sighing loudly at Troy and forcibly turning him to face the wall, "Now would you just be a big boy and look at your pictures?" With that, Braeden finally stepped forward to give her a congratulatory hug and Piper moved away to talk to other people.

Troy couldn't believe what he saw. In front on him on the wall were seven huge photos of him all in a heavily darkened black and white. They were set in chronological order, the first two with the black shirt on and the last five moving from standing, to his knees, and the last with his back. Troy was surprised by himself in every picture. He didn't look uncomfortable like he'd predicted. In fact, he actually looked like he knew what he was doing, but that didn't make him feel any better about it.

"Should I sign you up for _America's Next Top Model_?" Braeden asked before backing away and putting himself out of Troy's reach. Troy sighed and looked at the pictures for a few more seconds before catching Chad in his peripheral vision. Troy couldn't help himself when he started laughing out loud at the sight. Chad had rolled up his shirt sleeves, exposing his forearms which Troy noted he was flexing. He looked like a puffed up male bird in pursuit of a female and when he looked over to see why Troy was laughing he looked at him questioningly.

"What?" he asked with annoyance.

"She doesn't want me, Chad," Troy told him.

"Who?" Chad asked, feigning ignorance very badly.

"_Greer_. She doesn't want me like that. You don't have anything to worry about."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"It's okay if you like Greer. She's really cool and laid back."

"It's not like that with us. I've never even thought about her like that, really," Chad said.

"Well, I hadn't thought about Piper like that until, well, I _did_," Troy pointed out before walking away to talk to Braeden.

"So, even though I still kind of hate you for sleeping with my sister," Braeden started, "I feel like I should give you fair warning."

"About what?" Troy asked, suddenly feeling very concerned.

"That my dad's over there looking at the pictures and he looks pissed. Bye!" he exclaimed, speaking rapid fire before bolting away, leaving Troy standing there alone right as Coach Scott looked over. When he saw Troy, he started to make his way over and Troy started to imagine a thousand possibilities of what Coach Scott could say. Sure, he wasn't on his baseball team, but he was on his best friend's basketball team and Troy was sure that was close enough to call for getting yelled at. Even though there wasn't anything in the photos to indicate that anything was going on between him and Piper per say, Troy was shirtless and Piper had obviously found him "sensual" enough to put him as the focal point of her big shoot. Troy wasn't a dad, but could only imagine what Coach Scott was thinking at that exact moment about the guy his little girl was taking sexy half naked pictures of.

Coach Scott was about halfway over to him when Troy felt someone move next to him.

"Why do you look like you're about to throw up? Other than the fact that everyone's looking at you half naked?" Chad laughed. Troy just kept looking ahead towards the man approaching them, and when Chad followed Troy's gaze he took a step backward.

"You're not going _anywhere_," Troy stated sternly under his breath just as Coach Scott was stepping up.

"Hi Mr. Coach Scott, sir. Hey look! Free punch!" Chad exclaimed awkwardly before walking quickly away, leaving Troy completely alone with him.

"That sure was nice of you to help out Piper with her project," he stated in an ambiguous tone leaving Troy still completely petrified. Troy just smiled and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. The black vest he had on felt constricting, like it was slowly suffocating him.

"Well, she needed someone to pose for her and I always help out a friend when I can," Troy said.

"I wasn't under the impression you two were so… _close_," Coach Scott said, still eyeing Troy closely, "Guess I was wrong."

"Well, you know. With Braeden living next door, we've hung out a few times," Troy said uncomfortably, feeling somehow that Piper's dad was currently able to see directly into his thoughts and memories of his many, many encounters with Piper.

"I see…" was all he said before he walked over to his wife. Troy let out a loud whooshing breath and closed his eyes.

"Was Dad too hard on you?" Piper asked, coming up to him along with Chad and Greer, all three with punch in hand.

"I think he's plotting my death," Troy stated, taking a cup from Chad's outstretched hand, "You couldn't have warned me that your parents would be here?"

"I'm their baby and it's my show. Of _course_ they're here. Stop being so dramatic," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to run away to Mexico," Troy grumbled into his punch. Piper gasped.

"What a great idea! Let's go over Winter Break!" she said excitedly.

"Very funny," Troy said.

"I'm serious! Are you guys in?" she asked Greer and Chad.

"I'm always up for a road trip," Greer said, elbowing Chad, "What about you?"

"If I can come up with the money, I'll go," he said.

"Are we really doing this?" Piper asked, looking more excited with each passing second.

"I don't know…" Greer said, "Troy hasn't said yes yet." Piper sighed and turned to Troy.

"I have three words for you: hotel room sex."

"Um… you know. I might be able to make it work," he said innocently, but Greer and Chad just laughed at him.

"Let's get out of here and let Piper get back to accepting heaps of praise," Greer said, giving Piper's hand a squeeze before ushering the boys so they could continue their way through the rest of the gallery. At the very end, there was a table set up with stacks of calendars set up.

"Hey, it's April and November," the girl behind the table said as they walked past, prompting them to stop.

"What the hell?" Braeden asked, stepping up to the table and grabbing one of the calendars, "'The Arizona Freshman Athlete Caldendar'?"

"Oh shit…" Chad said, "She didn't!"

"Who didn't what?" Troy asked, grabbing one of the calendars and gaping as he saw a picture of himself on the back. He was on the basketball court during a game, lifting up his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face his abs completely exposed for the camera. He flipped through the calendar until he saw the full sized image as the photo for April. "Photo by Piper Scott?"

"And look at November. Chaddy, you look _fabulous_!" Braeden said.

"I'm going to murder her," Chad said.

"When did you do this?" Troy asked, unable to hide his feelings of surprisingly intense jealousy at the sight of Chad's mostly shirtless photo which had been taken by Piper according to the credit.

"She said she needed me for a project. She's very pushy," Chad said bitterly, "I don't know how you put up with it."

"Oh, he has ways of shutting her up. Don't you, Troy?" Greer teased. Braeden made a gagging sound and dropped the calendar back on the stack.

"I'm going to puke," he said, shoving into Troy on his way out the door.

"Well, you both look hot," Greer said, handing a twenty dollar bill to the girl behind the table and snagging a copy before leaving. Troy and Chad returned theirs to the stack.

"Will you two sign this copy? We're trying to get all the featured athletes to sign one copy so we can auction it off to make money for the Art Department," she said.

"Uh… sure," Chad said uncomfortably, taking a Sharpie and the calendar from her hands and signing his picture before moving aside to let Troy do the same.

"Thanks so much," she said directly to Chad, Troy noticed, "I'm Alexis, by the way."

"Chad," he said, introducing himself.

"Yeah, I know," she smiled. Chad nodded at her before following Troy out the door.

"What the hell took you two so long?" Braeden asked, "I'm starving and need a beer after all that." Troy recounted the events that had just taken place, being sure to put extra emphasis on the girl hitting on Chad.

"Did you ask her for her number? She was _hot_!" Braeden said.

"No, I'm still getting over the Taylor stuff. I'm not ready to go out on a date with anyone yet, no matter how hot she is," Chad laughed lightly before changing the subject, "Now let's go out to eat!"

"No, let's get take out. As I said, I need a beer. Stat!" Braeden said, leading the way to Greer's car where they all piled in and headed for Taco Bell.

A week later, Troy found himself fully immersed in studying for finals. He'd already had three and all that stood between him and their trip to Mexico was finishing a research paper and taking his Literature final. Just as he was going through and checking all of his citations one last time while Chad lounged on his bed watching TV having been done with finals since the day before, Greer and Piper let themselves into their room.

"If we're leaving for this trip in two days, we might want to make a hotel reservation," Piper said instead of greeting them, "Unless you two want to sleep in an alley or in the car or something."

"Works for me," Troy said to annoy her, his eyes not leaving the computer screen. He saved the document and scrolled through it one last time before printing it and sending an electronic copy to his professor. When he turned to join the conversation, he found them huddled around Chad's computer. They had made the decision earlier in the week to go to Puerto Penasco which was on the coast and only a three hour drive from Tuscon. All they had to do was find a place to stay that they could all actually afford for the three night stay they'd agreed upon.

"This place is only $70 a night!" Chad argued.

"It looks a little shady…" Greer said, "And it did _not_ get good reviews."

"Oh, how much time are we going to spend in the hotel anyway? I plan on being at a bar or on the beach the entire time. As long as it has a shower I'm happy," Piper said, surprising the hell out of Troy. He figured that she'd be the type of girl to be very anal retentive about the kind of hotel she stayed in, but apparently, she wasn't.

"Look, if we get this place, it's going to be less than $60 each for the hotel room. I say we book it," Chad said, looking at Troy for reinforcements as he peeked at the screen. It certainly wasn't anything fancy, but it touted great homemade margaritas and air conditioning, so Troy was sold.

"Works for me," Troy said. Piper clapped her hands together and shoved Chad out of his chair.

"Hey!" Chad cried.

"I'm the one with the account, so I suggest you stop complaining and let me book our room!" she spat and Chad raised his hands in defeat. A few mouse clicks later and they officially had a place to sleep in Mexico.

"Now that that's settled, we have some swimsuit shopping to do. Later!" Piper said, pausing in front of Troy.

"I got an A on my project, by the way," she told him before standing on her tiptoes to kiss him, "Thanks." With that, she and Greer left and Troy found himself frozen in place with shock.

"Are you _sure_ she's not your girlfriend?" Chad asked.

"Shut up," Troy mumbled before grabbing his Literature notebook and the books he'd read during the semester before heading out for the library.


	23. Chapter 23

Well well well...look what we have here :-D Our very first update of 2009! And I think this chapter will set us off on a really good foot this year :-D Especially if you've been waiting for something to happen to-nah...I don't think I'll say anything just yet ;) I'm headed for vacation and I have some stuff I have to get done for school before I leave, but expect an update next week sometime, assuming I get the next chapter written.

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**Chapter 23**

Having been done with his finals on Wednesday morning, Chad spent the rest of finals week chilling while Troy was busy studying. He found himself drug out of the dorm on Thursday afternoon, while he was in the middle of packing for his month long trip to Albuquerque, to help Piper and Greer set up their fake Christmas tree since Braeden refused to do it. And after it was all said and done, Chad knew why his friend had refused. The two girls were very indecisive and he had moved the tree as well as the furniture in the living room five times before he declared that he was done and left them to deal with the tree.

There proved to be no hard feelings when the girls showed up that evening as Troy was busy packing for the trip home and the trip to Mexico with a box of Christmas cookies obviously bought from the store.

While Troy packed the other three sat down and planned the trip since they had failed to do so the night before. Since the dorms were closing on Saturday at noon, Chad would bring all of his and Troy's stuff they planned to take home over with him when he brought his car over to the girls' apartment while Troy was taking his final. Then Chad, Piper and Greer would get dinner and snacks and pick Troy up right after his final. They would, hopefully, drive straight to Puerto Penasco and check into their hotel. Then they would spend Saturday and Sunday on the beach and return to Tucson on Monday. Troy and Chad would crash at the girls' apartment Monday night and head to Albuquerque Tuesday morning.

Unfortunately for them all, and Troy especially, his lit final was scheduled for 4 in the afternoon on Friday. So while he was taking his exam, Chad and the girls did everything they needed to do and were in Greer's car headed in Troy's direction with dinner and snacks when Troy called at a five minutes past six.

With Greer behind the wheel and Piper claiming that she got car sick in the backstreet, Troy and Chad were stuffed in the two-seater backstreet, a little too close for comfort. The seating arrangement also meant that the girls had full control of what music they listened to. Which ended up being a poppy mix of late 90's and early 00's hits.

"Can we please listen to something else?" Troy begged after he had listened to Greer and Piper sing three Spice Girl songs back to back.

"Sorry, Troy, but it's a tradition," Greer stated. "We _always_ listen to this music when we go to Mexico."

"But you hate pop music," Troy reminded Piper.

"Only because I get more than my yearly quota filled when we drive to Mexico," Piper stated.

Troy groaned and glared enviously at Chad who was listening to his iPod. In his haste to pack the night before, Troy had forgotten to grab his iPod out of his laptop case that now sat in Piper and Greer's apartment.

"Should we tell him what we listen to when we go to California?" Greer asked.

"No. We should let them be surprised," Piper replied. "No sense in scaring them away before we decide we want them to come along for Spring Break."

"Chad's birthday is during Spring Break so I think he's going home depending on his baseball schedule," Troy said.

"Oh right, baseball," Piper nodded. "Well if he doesn't go home, I'm sure I know _somebody_ that can make his birthday wishes come true."

Getting a text message, Troy looked down and missed the glare Greer gave Piper. He opened the message from Piper and grinned when he read her message.

_ever had sex on the beach?_

3 hours, countless cheesy pop songs and at least 500 dirty text messages between Troy and Piper later, Greer pulled into the driveway of their motel. Having been up late the night before, all Troy wanted to do was eat and go to sleep.

But Piper had other ideas. After they checked in and took their stuff up to their cheap looking room with lumpy mattresses that made them all shudder, she grabbed a brochure of local restaurants and started listing them off.

"Enchiladas sound good," Chad stated.

"Oh those do sound good," Greer nodded. "I love enchiladas."

"My Nana makes the best enchiladas, ever," Chad stated. "She was born in Mexico City and when my stepdad was young she and my Papi had a little Mexico restaurant where they lived in Arizona."

"Thanks for the history lesson, but I'm starving," Piper said, grabbing her purse. "Do you want to share another or can we go eat?"

"I'm done," Chad rolled his eyes.

"I liked your story," Greer said, nudging Chad with her elbow. "I think it's cool that you're close to your stepdad's parents."

Chad smiled as he and Greer followed Troy and Piper. Since it was late and they didn't feel like driving anymore, they went to the hotel's restaurant where they found the food subpar and decided not to eat there again.

Returning to their hotel room, the girls grabbed their suitcases and disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Troy and Chad each found their own little corner of the room and striped down to their boxers before they each climbed into one of the queen beds. Chad took the far side of the bed closest to the window and Troy took the opposite side on the bed closest to the door.

When the girls came out of the bathroom, they headed for the beds and Piper climbed in next to Troy and Greer paused by the bed Chad was in.

"Oh just get into bed with him," Piper stated. "He won't bite…hard." She gave her friend a shove toward the bed with her foot.

Giving her friend a glare, Greer climbed into the bed and in the process of getting situated, her leg brushed Chad's boxer covered butt. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he beat her to it.

"If you wanted to touch my ass, all you had to do was ask," he teased.

She rolled her eyes and pulled the blankets up to her chin. Turning off the light, she closed her eyes and was enjoying the quietness until she heard Piper and Troy whispering.

"Hello, some of us are trying to sleep," Chad stated from his spot next to her.

"Seriously and no hanky panky when we're all in here," Greer stated.

"We can be quiet," Piper argued.

Chad made a squealing noise that sounded like a monkey and Greer started laughing uncontrollably.

"What? What is so funny?" Piper demanded as Chad and Greer continued laughing. "Oh shut up and go to sleep."

The next morning, they woke up and took turns using the bathroom and getting dressed for the day. Chad was waiting for his turn to use the bathroom when Troy came out dressed in a pair of blue plaid board shorts he had had for years.

"Oh my god," Piper said when she saw him. "Your shorts are plaid."

"Yeah… so?" Troy asked.

"Plaid is from the devil," Piper stated.

"You obviously haven't seen his closet," Chad muttered. Earning a glare from Troy. "What? She was going to find your hidden stash of plaid shirts eventually."

"You have a stash of plaid shirts?!" Piper shrieked.

"What's so bad about plaid?" Troy asked. "My grandpa wears it all the time."

"Exactly, your _grandpa_-" Piper started but Greer cut her off, "Our senior year of high school, the school did a trial run of uniforms, we had to wear plaid skirts everyday. Since then Piper has been disgusted by plaid, not that I can blame her."

Shaking his head, Chad went into the bathroom and took a quick shower before he changed into his boardshorts that started out black at the top and then in a checkerboard style became white at the bottom.

As soon as he was done, they walked to a restaurant that Piper and Greer claimed had the best food in town for breakfast. They ordered Mexican versions of their favorite American meals and for drinks Troy ordered orange juice, Greer got coffee, Chad got milk and Piper ordered a margarita.

"You do realize it's only ten in the morning, right?" Chad said as he watched her sip the alcoholic drink.

"Yeah, but I plan to spend this weekend in a happily drunken state," Piper grinned. She pulled the straw towards her mouth with her tongue and took a long sip. "Yummy."

Greer shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. "So what's the plan for today?" She asked. "Do we want to stay on the beach all day or do a little shopping?"

"Oh, we're going shopping," Piper said, glancing briefly at Troy's shorts.

"I'm not buying new shorts," Troy stated.

"Then there's no reason to tell Chad and Greer they have to find some place else to sleep tonight," Piper shrugged.

"What?!" Troy, Chad and Greer exclaimed.

"Seriously, you're going to withhold sex because I have plaid shorts?" Troy shook his head. "That's crap, Piper."

"Shut up, Troy," Greer stated looking at her friend. "What do you mean Chad and I need to find some place else to sleep tonight?"

"We're going out tonight and I'm planning to get the most I can get out of that cheap ass hotel room," Piper stated. "And since you guys don't want to listen to us, you have to find some place else to spend the night."

"So why do we have to give up our place to sleep so you two can fuck?" Chad asked.

"Because we would do the same thing for you two if you decided to sleep together," Piper replied. "Hurry up and eat, Troy. We gotta buy you some new shorts."

"I said, I'm not getting new shorts," Troy stated.

"No shorts, mean we won't do _anything_ we texted about yesterday," Piper stated. "Not even the thing you really wanted to try."

Troy took a staggered breath and looked at his shorts before he nodded. "Fine."

"I don't even want to know," Chad shook his head.

"Ditto," Greer echoed.

"Yes you guys do," Piper started to continue but Troy claimed his hand over her mouth.

"Just finish your drink and eat your breakfast so we can go to the beach," he told her.

Thirty minutes later, they left the restaurant and headed to the surf shop near the beach. They split up with Chad and Greer going to look for souvenirs and possible Christmas presents while Troy allowed Piper to drag him to a changing booth.

"You wait here, I'll find stuff for you to try on," she told him.

He sighed and sat down on the bench while he waited for her to return. When she did, she invited herself into his changing booth and shooed him away from the bench. She sat down and took the first item off a hanger and handed it to him.

Having already dropped his shorts, Troy took the item from her and froze when he saw it was a speedo.

"Piper! This is a speedo!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah… so?"

"You said shorts, I am not wearing a speedo. And no, I won't try it on just for kicks."

"Fine, you big baby." Piper pouted as she handed him a pair of mostly black shorts with two blue diagonal stripes and one purple diagonal stripe.

After purchasing the new shorts, the foursome left the surf shop and Troy went into a public bathroom nearby and changed into his new shorts then stuffed his old shorts in Greer's bag when she offered. Then they made their way down to the beach, stopping for a second at a bar on the beach to get cool drinks.

They picked a spot between the bar and the ocean, Piper's only request, and laid out their towels. After taking off his shirt, Chad let his eyes survey the beach and as they got back to where he and his friends were he saw Greer unbuttoning the jean shorts she was wearing and push them down her long, slender legs revealing a green and white horizontal stripe bikini bottom.

Not seeing Chad watching her, Greer dropped her shorts on her towel then pulled her green t-shirt over her head, revealing a matching top that had a little ruffle on the collar. She checked to make sure she wasn't revealing anything she didn't want to and looked up to see Chad staring at her. Blushing, she threw her shirt at him and chuckled when it hit him in the face. He threw the shirt back at her, his cheeks slightly red in embarrassment.

"Troy, will you help me with my back?" They heard Piper ask and turned to find her standing in front of Troy, a tube of suntan lotion in her hands. Compared to Greer's bikini, Piper's was skimpy. The top was white with ties behind her neck and at mid-back. The bottoms were also white and high cut with thin strips of fabric holding the front and back together.

"Doesn't she know that white goes next to invisible when wet?" Chad whispered to Greer.

"Yeah," Greer nodded. "But I think that's her intention."

Chad just shook his head and turned his attention away from Troy and Piper. "So what are we doing tonight since we've clearly been kicked out of our hotel room?"

"I have no idea," Greer sighed. She glanced at Piper and Troy and saw him rubbing suntan lotion on her. "You wanna go for a walk, Chad?"

"Yeah," Chad nodded. He stood up and they started walking. They walked for an hour before deciding to go up to a little ice cream shop. They were licking ice cream cones when Chad's phone rang. "'Ello?"

"Hey, it's Paul," his stepdad greeted. "I was just calling to make sure you and Troy were out of bed and on the road."

"Uh…about that," Chad said, glancing at Greer. "We decided to stay in Tucson for a couple extra days."

"When did you guys decide this?" Paul asked.

"We got, uh, invited to a Christmas/birthday party for a friend," Chad lied through his teeth. "The party is Monday so we'll be home Tuesday."

"I assume the party is in Tucson?"

"Uh huh."

"Then why does our cell phone service say you're in Mexico?"

Chad went silent.

"I'm going to take that as you being unable to lie anymore," Paul stated. "What the hell are you doing in Mexico, Chad?"

"Troy and I came with some friends," Chad stated. "Please, don't tell my mom. She'll kill me."

"Even though you lied to me, I won't tell your mother," Paul sighed. "Just don't do anything stupid, Chad. You'll get us both into a lot of hot water."

"Yes, sir," Chad nodded.

"I expect you and Troy to be in Albuquerque by noon on Tuesday and if you are even a minute late, you will get to spend your Christmas break driving your sister _where ever_ she wants to go," Paul told him.

"Yes, sir," Chad gulped.

"See you on Tuesday," Paul said before hanging up.

"Everything ok?" Greer asked.

"Apparently, my cell phone has some sort of tracking thing on it so my stepdad found out I'm in Mexico," Chad sighed as they walked back towards where Troy and Piper were. "He agreed not to tell my mom, but threatened to make me drive my sister around where ever she wants to go if Troy and I aren't back in Albuquerque by noon on Tuesday."

"Oh, that- oh my god!" Greer exclaimed, quickly turning away.

"What?" Chad looked in the direction she had been looking and immediately regretted it when he saw Piper riding Troy. He turned around and shook his head. "Those two have no shame."

"And apparently no sense of right or wrong!" Greer exclaimed. "Do they not realize _anybody_ could walk up on them?!"

"I think that's her intention," Chad said, quoting Greer from earlier.

Unable to go back to their spot on the beach, they headed to the bar, bought drinks and sat down on the stools.

"At least we can't hear Troy and his monkey calls," Chad reasoned.

"For once," Greer laughed.

A little while later, Troy walked up to the bar with a goofy grin on his face and it wasn't until after he ordered drinks for himself and Piper that he saw Chad and Greer looking at him. "What?" He asked.

Chad didn't answer; instead he and Greer got up and headed for their beach towels while making monkey sounds. By the time they got to Piper they were barely able to walk they were laughing so hard.

"What are you two laughing about now?" Piper asked as they sat down on their towels.

"Nothing," Chad and Greer replied, simultaneously.

"Whatever," Piper rolled her eyes as she laid back, intent on getting a nice tan.

When Troy showed up with his and Piper's drinks he set them in the sand then sat down.

"I'm going swimming," Chad said once his fit of laughter was over. "Anybody wanna come?"

"I'll go," Troy stated. "You coming, Piper?"

"No thanks, I'm already wet," she replied and nobody missed the double meaning. Chad just rolled his eyes and took off in a run towards the warm water. He ran in until it was up to his knees before he dove under.

Several hours later as the sun was setting, the foursome left the beach and went back to their hotel room. Once again there was a line for the bathroom, though this time the guys were in first then turned on the TV to watch soccer while the girls got ready.

Piper was the first of the two girls ready and she came out of the bathroom dressed in a black silk dress with lime green leaves printed on it. Her hair was pulled back in an elegant bun and she wore a pair of black stilettos on her feet. She was dancing with a reluctant Troy, when Greer opened the bathroom door an inch and demanded Piper come into the room.

"Where is it?" Greer demanded after she shut the door behind her best friend. She was standing in the middle of the room in a pair of matching black underwear.

"Where is what?" Piper asked, playing dumb.

"You know what I'm talking about," Greer glared. "My dress, the blue one with the ruffles that you made me buy the other day… that I know for a fact that I put in my bag the other day. And imagine my surprise, when I look where I know I put it and I find this." She pulled out a red, halter dress. "I don't suppose you know how it got in here."

"I have no idea, but that'll look really hot on you," Piper grinned. "I think it'll really get Chad moving in the right direction."

"Piper!" Greer exclaimed.

"What? You obviously like him, Greer," Piper stated. "So why not explore your feelings? If you can't do it sober, then get drunk and take the hottie for a test drive."

"I hate you," Greer stated.

"I know," Piper smiled before leaving the bathroom.

"Everything ok in there?" Chad asked her.

"Yup."

A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened and Greer came out dressed in the red dress that fell to her mid-thigh. Her dark hair was slightly curled and hanging around her shoulders.

"Whoa, momma!" Piper whistled. "I told you that you would look hot. Doesn't she look hot, Chad?"

"Yeah, you look really good, Greer," Chad nodded.

"Alright, let's go," Piper declared. "Grab my purse, Troy."

After a dinner at a more upscale restaurant the foursome headed to a nightclub. Chad and Greer danced together and after noticing how worried she was about the possibility of exposing herself to everyone in the room, Chad took off his button up shirt and handed it to her, leaving him in a simple white undershirt while she put on his shirt and buttoned it up.

Troy and Piper made it through a couple drinks and some close dancing that was more like grinding, they said goodbye and headed for the hotel.

Growing tired of the thumping music, Chad and Greer left the club shortly after their friends and headed for a 24 hour restaurant. Once there, they ordered a piece of pie to share and a couple cups of coffee. They took the only empty booth and since one side of the booth had a big rip in the seat, they sat down on the same side of the table.

"So how are we going to kill six hours?" Chad asked as he leaned back in the booth.

"I think we'd be safe heading back there in four, they can't expect us to stay up all night just so they can have sex," Greer stated.

"Alright, so what are we going to do for the next four hours?" Chad asked.

"You could tell me about your first kiss," Greer suggested.

"Alright, Sharpay Evans was the girl, I was 9 years old and she kissed me under the play structure at school," Chad replied. "Then she turned out to be one of the biggest whores in our graduating class. Troy denies it, but the two of them did something when we were freshman in high school." He shook his head. "Apparently, there's something about me that turns girls I like into whores."

"I'd say it was the sex, but you only kissed Sharpay," Greer said.

"Exactly, so tell me, who was your first kiss?" Chad asked.

"Piper," she stated and his mouth dropped. "Kidding. It was, as embarrassing as it sounds, Braeden."

"Your first kiss was with Braeden?" Chad asked.

"He was like 8 years old and had a crush on me," Greer explained. "It was Christmas time and he caught me under some mistletoe and when I leaned down to kiss his cheek the little snot moved his face so my lips landed on his. Piper found the whole thing amusing, but I was mortified."

"That's hilarious," Chad laughed. "Reminds me of something that happened to Troy at our winter holiday party in fifth grade."

They continued to share funny stories for a couple hours before they ran out of things to talk about. It was then that Chad asked Greer something that had been on his mind since his and Taylor's breakup. "Why did you ask Gabriella so many questions about me and Taylor that night?"

Greer looked at her empty coffee cup then signaled for the waitress to refill it while she tried to think of how to answer. "I guess I wanted to know what was so special about this girl that was obviously jerking your chain," she shrugged. "I only had your side of the story and I honestly had hoped that after hearing more about her that I would understand why you still loved her and why you put up with her shit."

"Oh."

They were silent as the waitress refilled their coffee cups then left.

"Taylor didn't deserve you, Chad," Greer stated. "You deserve a girl that is going to love you and want to be with you. Not a girl who only wants you physically." She stirred cream and sugar into her cup. "You said it yourself, Chad, that the sex ruined your relationship with Taylor and not many guys would say that and mean it. But I know you did, because I know you. You're a really caring guy, Chad. You make a girl feel special and someday you'll find that girl that will want to be with you whether your having sex with her or sitting in a diner at 2 in the morning while your best friend is off fucking his fuck buddy-"

She stopped when she felt his hand gently touch her chin and turned her face to look at him. Then, in what would be a slow motion shot in a movie, their eyes fluttered closed as their mouths came together for the first time. The kiss was timid at first, but she soon felt him sucking on her bottom lip and opened her mouth to let his tongue in.

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P.S. Aren't you happy I let you be surprised??


	24. Chapter 24

Hello everyone! Cate here with the latest chapter.

In this chapter, the Mexico saga continues. Ally and I hope you enjoyed the little surprise at the end of the last chapter. We're still working hard on this story and still love it lots. Updates might not always be regular, but they'll come, don't worry. Thanks so much to bronzedbeautyholic for the review of the last chap! If you're reading, please let us know what you think! We'd love to know! Until next time... :)

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Troy awoke to the feeling of Piper's hand sliding down the front of his boxer briefs. He almost moaned aloud at the feeling of her warm fingers wrapping around him, but before he could, he felt her hand slide over his mouth. His eyes jerked open and he realized that he was not in Tuscon, but rather in their small hotel room in Mexico. A quick glance showed him that it was seven in the morning and that there was only one lump in the other bed. Before he could assess the situation to find out where the missing party was, Piper gave him a firm squeeze, bringing his attention back over to her. She gave him a "_What the fuck?_" look and stilled her moments until he gave her a reassuring look and a deep kiss.

Even though Troy was terrified of being caught by Greer and Chad, Piper was just too damned good and knew exactly what he loved and so he let her continue despite the nagging voice screaming at him to stop her hand's blissful movements.

After he bit back every sound that threatened to spill from his mouth, Piper had contentedly removed her hand from his boxers and got up to go to the bathroom. Halfway there, she tripped over something and swore loudly, sitting down quickly on the end of their bed and examining her obviously wounded foot.

"Wha-?" Chad mumbled sleepily from his place on the floor. When he had gone to sleep there, it hadn't seemed like a bad idea. In fact, it had seemed like the most logical and best idea in the world. Once he and Greer had finally separated, things had felt weird. Very weird. They hardly spoke a word to each other after they paid their bill and left and she didn't try at all to convince him to sleep in the bed. Hell, she had even handed him the pillow and extra blanket. But now that his back was painfully stiff and his skin prickled from the contact it had had with the scratchy and likely very dirty carpet all night, he was regretting the decision immensely.

"Are you feet made of fucking titanium?" Piper spat, rubbing her big toe once more for good measure before getting up and stepping dramatically over him before making her way into the bathroom. Greer sat up and rubbed her eyes after Piper had slammed the bathroom door shut.

"Why are you sleeping on the floor?" Troy asked. If he hadn't been looking at the screen of his cell phone to see if he had any messages, he wouldn't have missed the brief and slightly panicked look that Chad and Greer shared.

"Well," Chad started, thinking quickly back to something he and Greer had talked about at the restaurant before they started randomly making out, "She told me that she hadn't slept well the night before because I kept kicking her in my sleep." Troy nodded understandingly.

"Yeah, he does that," he said, regretting the statement as soon as it came out of his mouth. Greer cocked an eyebrow at him.

"And how do _you_ know what Chad does in his sleep?" she asked him.p

"We've been friends for forever. You think we've never slept in the same bed that entire time?" Troy asked, "I know for a fact that that you and Piper have slept in the same bed lots of times."

"Well yeah, but that was because we always fooled around beforehand," she shrugged, rolling her eyes when the guys looked at her with their mouths hanging open, "I'm _kidding_. Good lord, you perverts."

"What's going on out here?" Piper asked as she stepped out of the bathroom and headed back for Troy, obviously irritated that she had to step over Chad again.

"Nothing," Troy said.

"I think _someone_ needs her morning drink," Chad grumbled, finally pulling himself off the floor and setting his bedding on the empty side of the bed beside Greer. Troy smiled as Piper climbed under the covers beside him and pulled the sheet up to her chin. He was sure that the frigid air coming from the air conditioner right beside them was freezing her exposed arms and legs. After reaching over to rub his hand vigorously over her closest thigh a few times, trying to create enough friction to warm her, he slid his hand into her lap and attempted to lace his fingers with hers without even thinking about it. Before he could even register what he had done, Piper was up and off the bed, going over to the air conditioner to turn the fan down and rubbing her arms briskly.

"Time for breakfast?" Greer asked. They all agreed and got themselves ready for the day with their swimsuits under their clothes so they could go straight to the beach when they were finished. The whole time they ate, Troy felt strange and he had a sneaking suspicion why, but he just brushed it aside. Of course Piper was weirded out that he had tried to hold her hand. It wasn't something he'd ever done before. Well, except for the times when their fingers intertwined while in the middle of some sexual encounter. But then again, maybe she _had _just gotten up with the intention of turning down the air. She could have just pulled her hand away if she didn't want him to hold it, after all.

Even though he didn't want to, he couldn't help but think about it during their entire walk to the beach. He and Piper looked at each other in surprise when Greer ordered tequila shots for them all. She hadn't gone really crazy the entire trip, and when Troy thought back on it, he'd never seen her _really_ drunk. Not like he'd seen Piper drunk, that was. So after they'd all downed their shots and gotten another drink for themselves, they headed for the beach.

Four hours and several drinks and borderline inappropriate trips into the ocean with Piper later, Troy was ready to be out of the sun. His skin had browned significantly and he needed a big plate of food and possibly a nap. He was so tired of being on the beach, in fact, that not even the sight of Piper in her insanely skimpy bikini was doing much for him. After a significant amount of whining and heavy sighing, everyone gave into him and they gathered up their things and headed out in search of a place to eat lunch.

He and Chad both ordered big glasses of water to hydrate themselves, but Piper and Greer decided to split a pitcher of margaritas between the two of them.

"You two sure are going all out today," Troy noticed aloud, trying to ignore the feeling of Piper's groping hand rubbing his thigh dangerously close to the one place she really shouldn't have been touching in public.

"It's the last day of our trip that we're taking on our last ever Winter Break. So yes, we're going all out," Piper smiled. She looked right at Troy while sticking out her tongue and slowly licking some salt off the rim of her glass. "Oh Greer, don't you just _love_ licking salty things off of hard surfaces?" Chad groaned embarrassedly and shoved half a taco in his mouth before covering his face in his hands while Troy just tried not to grab Piper and have sex with her in the middle of the restaurant in front of everyone. Once he had gotten himself under control, he noticed that Greer was giggling furiously into her napkin.

"What's so funny?" Troy asked her.

She tried to get her laughter under control but couldn't and Troy could barely make out the word when she said it. "_Salty!_" Piper rolled her eyes with a slight smile on her lips and refilled her best friend's glass.

"Okay Chuckles, try not to be a lightweight," Piper said as she shoved a glass full of the frozen concoction Greer's way. Troy had no idea what was causing Greer to get so drunk, but he had to admit that she was damned entertaining. By the time he and Chad had ordered some sopapillas to share, Greer and Piper were up dancing by the jukebox to a song as if it was their favorite, though Troy was sure they'd never heard it before in their lives.

"What's gotten into them today?" Chad asked as they walked behind the girls on their way down the hall to their hotel room. Piper had begged Troy and offered him many sexual favors if he would pick up the tab to take them to a grocery store where they could buy some booze and just stay in the hotel room for the evening. Troy had high hopes for pulling Piper into the bathroom and having his way with her, but she and Greer finished off a six pack of beer and then fell asleep a little after eight in the same bed, forcing Troy and Chad to share. Needless to say, it was _not_ the way Troy wanted to spend his last night away with Piper.

The next morning, they received a wake-up call from the front desk that Troy didn't understand at all. The four years of Spanish he'd taken in school completely failed him when he was still mostly asleep, but he managed to wake everyone else up and get them moving in the direction of packing and showering before their trip back to Tuscon.

"Will you sit with me on the drive back?" Piper asked Troy, climbing onto his lap and straddling him as he sat on the edge of the bed even though Chad was right on the other side of the room quickly shoving things into his bag.

"I thought you didn't like sitting in the back seat," Troy smiled as she scooted herself closer to him, pressing her breasts into his chest intentionally, Troy assumed.

"I suppose I could make an exception if you promise to-" Troy cut her off by clapping his hand over her mouth before she had the chance to finish that potentially embarrassing comment.

"Are you still drunk?" Troy laughed as she shoved his hand off her mouth and started to place light kisses to his neck.

"Gotta problem with it, Pampers?"

"Pampers? Wow, it's been awhile since you called me _that_."

"If the shoe fits…"

"Okay you two, it's time to go," Chad said, eyeing Greer as she came slowly out of the bathroom with sunglasses on and a light hooded sweatshirt pulled up over her head, "Are you okay?"

"Do you have to be so loud?" she whispered, snagging her bag off the bed and started for the door. Chad sighed and looked at Troy and Piper who were now making out and then at Greer who was obviously incredibly hungover. He knew without asking anyone that he was now stuck driving back to Arizona.

"Piper, come on, we need to get going," Troy said after several blissful seconds of kissing her. She made a whining noise Troy knew she would have been mortified of if she wasn't still feeling the effects of the half bottle of tequila she'd consumed the day before, but she allowed him to lead her out of the room, both of their bags slung over his shoulder. Troy found Chad already seated in the driver's seat and Greer in the passenger's with her head pressed up against the window. He knew that being stuck in the backseat with drunk Piper was not a good thing.

His fears were realized when she almost immediately scooted as close to him as she could manage and tried to press her lips to his.

"Piper, come on. Just wait until we get back to Tuscon, okay?" She looked at him and rolled her eyes before scooting back into her own seat and dramatically pulling a magazine from the holder on the back of Chad's seat.

"_Fine_," she spat, not even looking at him when she said it. Troy knew that she would be over it as soon as she sobered up, but that didn't make him feel any less uncomfortable being stuck there next to her while she huffed every few seconds and flipped the pages of the Glamour before her so hard they almost ripped with each rough turn. He thought about trying to talk to Chad, but when he saw his best friends' jaw set in a tight line, he knew better. Something was bugging him, and Troy was pretty sure that it had something to do with having to drive back. There was no way Chad would have offered to sit in the back seat with Piper and Greer was clearly in no condition to drive, so he really had gotten stuck with the job and Troy felt for him. But instead of saying something, he just sat there and watched the scenery pass him by.

Eventually, Piper fell asleep and Troy stole her magazine. Just when he thought he couldn't get more estrogen-laden crap shoved into his brain, Chad pulled in front of Piper and Greer's apartment building and Troy heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'm starving," Piper groaned as she struggled her way out of the backseat.

"You're not the only one," Chad replied grumpily. Greer just nodded lightly. Her sunglasses were now gone, but she still looked worse for the wear. Troy didn't care what they did as long as he wasn't crammed in that backseat any more.

"Can we just go to Subway?" Piper asked, "It's close and cheap. I don't think we have much food in the house, so that's not really an option."

"Subway sounds good to me," Troy smiled.

"Me too," Chad chimed in, and again, Greer just nodded. They all dropped off their things in the living room and then piled into Piper's Camry at Troy's insistence, stating that there was no way he was getting back in Greer's tiny back seat. Piper claimed to have sobered up during the drive and Troy believed her, mainly because she had stopped attempting to grope him in front of Greer and Chad. That was usually a clear sign that Piper was feeling the affects of alcohol, and she definitely wasn't as aggressive as she had been a few hours prior.

The drive was only about five minutes, and Troy watched as Piper got comfortable in her seat, gripping the steering wheel at the top with her left hand and letting her right arm rest against her side, her fingertips drumming against her thigh in time with the music on the radio. Troy turned around quickly to find Greer and Chad silently looking out their respective windows and took a quiet but deep breath before reaching over in an attempt to lace his fingers with Piper's again. He not only felt compelled to do so by desire, but also out of pure curiosity. If she really _had_ gotten up that morning to turn down the AC, then she would surely let him hold her hand now.

As soon as his fingertips made contact with the top of Piper's hand, she pulled her hand away to rest on the steering wheel next to her left hand and Troy felt his stomach drop to somewhere near his feet. There was no turn coming up nor were there any cars in the lanes surrounding them that would have given Piper reason to get a better grip on the steering wheel. Troy didn't allow himself to make up excuses for her this time. She just didn't want him to hold her hand. As much as he wanted to tell himself that it was okay, that it didn't bother him, he couldn't. His throat constricted slightly and he brought his hand to his lap immediately before looking out his window. They must have looked like four people who hated each other forced to share a vehicle, he mused painfully as he watched Subway's sign come into view.

They got in line silently and Troy couldn't remember a time recently when he had felt so uncomfortable. He had felt more at ease standing there looking at the half-naked photoshoot of himself then he did standing there not talking to Piper. Though their relationship had changed a lot since they first met, they had definitely never been at a loss for words. So, watching her stand there staring up at the menu when they, and probably Greer, already knew that she was going to be ordering tuna salad on honey oat bread, proved to him that he had made her uncomfortable by trying to hold her hand. Without meaning to, he sighed loudly and Chad nudged him lightly, giving him a look that asked if he was okay. Troy just shrugged and stepped up to the counter to order. Piper was already halfway down the line, instructing the girl behind the counter what vegetables she wanted on her sandwich. While she waited to pay, Troy sidled up next to her, bumping her with his hip, hoping to elicit a smile from her. He succeeded and she gave him a little half smile that told him she was okay at least.

Troy was too busy chuckling to himself about the massive amounts of stuff Chad had ordered on his sandwich to notice the tinkling of the bell above the door or the fact that Piper had stiffened considerably ever since the bell had sounded. Right after he had received his change and had taken his sandwich from the counter, he felt Piper's small hand work its way quickly into his, her fingers locking between his own with surprising speed and force. Troy looked down at their hands, getting ready to smile at her when he heard someone say hello to Piper from the other end of the line. One look towards the owner of the voice and Troy found himself filled with an anger far stronger than he was used to experiencing. The owner of the voice was Preston.

Immediately after they had gotten outside, Troy ripped his hand from Piper's and went to sit in the back seat. He knew that he was behaving childishly, but Greer had apparently gotten over her hangover enough to notice Preston's presence and had therefore filled Troy's spot next to Piper immediately.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Greer asked her. Piper just sat there stiffly in the driver's seat before throwing the car into reverse and speeding out of the parking lot, her tires squealing as she turned on to the street.

"Jesus, don't kill me just because you're pissed off about something!" Chad exclaimed, his hand instinctually grabbing for the handle above his head as she took another corner too fast for the comfort of her passengers. Troy didn't care how she was driving as long as she was getting them back to their apartment where he could confront Piper about what had just happened.

"Troy, are you okay?" Greer asked after about a minute. He looked at her in surprise before noticing that his hand that wasn't gripping the door handle was holding onto his sandwich so hard he had squished it in two.

"No," he replied simply and he saw Piper look at him in the rearview mirror. He just took his gaze from hers and went back to staring out the window and using his sandwich as a stress ball. It was already mostly ruined, he figured, so why not finish the job.

Troy didn't know if Chad had noticed the glaring tension between Piper and Troy, but Greer had and she looked at him and nodded towards the kitchen as Troy stalked towards the living room with Piper close at his heels.

"Troy, what's your problem?" she asked, sitting down on the couch and unwrapping her sandwich in her lap. Troy stood on the other side of the coffee table from her, still massacring his sandwich in his vice grip.

"What's _my_ problem? What the fuck is _your_ problem, Piper?"

"I obviously have no idea what you're talking about, Troy."

"Why did you hold my hand in Subway?" he demanded.

"You know why…"

"Because _Preston_ was there? You'll hold my hand to convince your stupid ex-boyfriend that you're dating me, but that's it?"

"You're not my boyfriend, Troy, but Preston thinks you are. So yeah, I held your hand in Subway. What's the big damned deal?"

"The deal is that we've been sleeping together for three months and spend time together every day. We are _not_ just fuck buddies any more, Piper. I know I'm not your boyfriend, but I'd like to think that when I tried to hold your hand I could get better than you pulling away like it hadn't even happened."

"Are you really making this big of a deal out of holding my hand? I've let you do pretty much every other physical thing imaginable to me, with a few _obvious_ exceptions, so who cares if I don't want you to hold my hand."

"Because I _do_ want to hold it, Piper. Ever since you pulled away this morning, it's practically been all I could think about. And I know that sounds stupid, but it's true! And then you go and hold my hand just to… to what? Make the guy who dumped you and moved away with a shitty excuse jealous? Why do you even care what he thinks about you?"

"Because I _do_, okay?"

"No, not okay. Nothing about this is okay," he stated, turning to leave.

"You're acting like a psycho right now, are you even aware of that?"

"I'd rather be crazy than oblivious and pathetic," he said and immediately wanted to take the words back. Piper glared at him before setting her sandwich on the table.

"_I'm_ pathetic? I'm not the one sitting here trying to make a perfectly good sexual relationship something more by making a big god damned deal out of _hand holding_!"

"Shit, Piper, it's not about holding your damned hand!"

"Then what is it about?"

"I don't know!" he admitted in a loud yell. She swallowed hard.

"Then what is this about?"

"I don't know. All I _do_ know is that I'm so fucking mad at you right now for not holding my hand, and for using me to make your ex jealous. I'm _mad_ at you, Piper."

"Well I'm mad at you, too," she said, but her voice had softened and she sounded a lot more sad than mad, Troy noticed. "I'm mad at you because now we have to end this."

"What?"

"It's clear that you can't handle this any more, so we can't see each other any more." Troy scrambled for words. He had to make her take back those words, because the second she had said them, it felt like his whole world was spiraling out of control.

"Piper, no! We're just… we're just fighting. It'll be okay."

"Troy, that's just the problem. We're fighting, but we're not in a relationship. So there's nothing to fight for. This isn't working, so now it's over," she told him before picking up he sandwich and going up the stairs so fast she was almost running. Before her feet had even hit the landing upstairs, Chad and Greer came sheepishly out of the kitchen, having obviously heard every word.

"Let's go home, man," Chad said, even though they'd been planning on spending the night there.

"Yeah…" Troy made himself reply, but his voice sounded distant. Chad grabbed their bags and ushered Troy in the direction of the door while Greer ran upstairs to check on Piper. Troy couldn't even feel his feet moving. Everything felt numb.


	25. Chapter 25

I was going to post this chapter like 5 hours ago, but I've been so busy today I feel like my head is going to spin right off my neck. I'm graduating in June so I'm really feeling the crunch of everything with school and all that fun shiz that comes with life after college...though I'm most likely going back to school for another degree...but we'll see when I decide to do that. The next few chapters will be long and sort of drama filled, but some of your favorite Wildcats will be making appearances, starting with Jason, Zeke and Sharpay in this chapter and some Ryan, Gabriella and Taylor in the chapter I'll be posting next week sometime.

So enjoy the update and special shout out goes to the road to damascus for reviewing the last chapter.

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**Chapter 25**

Chad grumbled as he rolled over in his sleep. His back was killing him and had been since he had slept on the floor in Mexico and it didn't help that he has to sleep on a couch. A couch! His eyes shot open and he grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and saw it was 12:12PM.

"Shit!" He cursed, jumping off the couch. "Troy, we-

He froze when he saw Troy's mom standing in the doorway. What was she doing here? He looked around the room and finally realized he was at Troy's parents' house.

"Everything alright, Chad?" Troy's mom asked.

"Yeah," Chad nodded. "I didn't know where I was for a second."

Troy's mom smiled. "What time did you and Troy get here last night?" She asked.

"I don't remember," Chad scratched his messy hair. "I think we left Tucson a little after 8 or 9 last night." He shrugged. "I know we got stuck behind an accident for awhile, but Troy drove and I slept."

"Alright, well I called your mom this morning after Jack found you passed out on the couch," she told him. "And she told me to send you home as soon as you woke up."

"Ok, thanks," Chad nodded. He was about to ask her if she knew where Troy had left his keys, but then he saw them sitting on the coffee table. "I guess I'll get going."

"It'll be nice to have you boys home again," Troy's mom smiled. "We missed you guys around here."

"It's good to be home," Chad stated. He grabbed put on his shoes and grabbed his car keys. "Will you have Troy call me when he wakes up?"

"Sure thing," Troy's mom smiled.

Walking out to his car, Chad couldn't help but think of what had happened over the past couple of days. Troy and Piper had ended whatever the heck they had had going on and he had overstepped the line of friendship he and Greer had had.

Kissing Greer was a big mistake. It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed it, he had and probably too much. It was just that it was wrong for him to kiss her when they were both so vulnerable and trying to recover from having their hearts broken. Not to mention he had probably ruined any chance he ever had with her and then Troy had put the nail in the coffin with him and Piper ending things.

Climbing into his car, Chad drove the short distance to his house and managed to smile when he pulled into the empty driveway. It was clear nobody was home and that meant he'd get to take a shower and possibly eat before he had to deal with his mom, stepdad and sister. He climbed out of the car and grabbed his stuff he needed for his shower out, he'd get the rest of his stuff later. He walked over to the garage and typed in the code to open the garage door and let himself in. He had almost gotten to the door to the kitchen when the door swung open.

"CHAD!" Sabra screamed as she came barreling toward him. "YOU'RE HOME!"

Chad gulped as he hugged his sister. There were no cars in the driveway, but Sabra was home, so that could only mean one thing. He looked up at the door into the house and saw Taylor smiling at him. _Shit_.

"Sabra, why don't we help your big brother get his stuff out of his car," Taylor suggested as she walked out of the house.

"Ok," Sabra grinned and raced towards the car.

"I have a better idea, why don't _you_ go home," Chad hissed at Taylor.

"I'm babysitting," Taylor smiled.

"I'm home now, so _you_ can leave," Chad stated.

"I'm not leaving until I get paid," Taylor crossed her arms.

"I'll put a check in the mail for you tomorrow," Chad replied.

"Fine, but I have to wait until Gabriella can pick me up," Taylor told him. "And she had a dentist appointment that started fifteen minutes ago."

"Chaddy, your car is locked," Sabra said, running into the garage.

"I know, put your shoes on Sab, we're taking Taylor home," Chad told his sister. "We're leavin' in two minutes."

Two minutes later, Chad was clenching his fist as he drove Taylor to the apartment she shared with her sister. He had purposely chosen not to tell his parents why he and Taylor had broken up because he didn't think it was fair to Taylor, but he was beginning to think he needed to talk to his mom about it, because he wouldn't be able to get over Taylor completely if she was always around.

"You know, you should really have her in a car seat or something," Taylor said as he drove.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Chad snapped as he came to a stop in front of her apartment complex.

"I hope you get pulled over," Taylor glared at him before turning to look at his sister. "Bye Sabby."

"Bye Tay-Tay," Sabra waved.

When Chad and Sabra got home, he let her carry his basketball into the house while he brought the rest of his stuff in. Then, after starting a load of laundry, he made mac'n'cheese for them. He was doing the dishes when his mom got home.

"Chad, you're home," she smiled and wrapped him in a hug.

"Hi, mom," Chad said and took a deep breath once she let go of him. "Look, we need to talk-"

"About Taylor?" His mom guessed and Chad nodded. "I was in a pinch this morning, Chaddy Boy, my doctor wanted to see me before Christmas and so I had to reschedule my appointment and they said they could see me this morning and I didn't know what time you would be home." She looked around the kitchen. "Where is Taylor?"

"Sab and I took her home," Chad replied. "I told her we'd mail her a check."

"Where's Sabby?" His mom asked.

"Last I checked she was asleep in front of the TV," Chad replied.

"Good, let me put on a pot of hot water and we can catch up," his mom smiled. "You want a glass of tea or hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate with marshmallows?" Chad asked with a smile.

His mom chuckled and a few minutes later they were sitting at the dinning room table. "How was school?" She asked.

"It was good," Chad stated. "I think I got all A's and B's." He took a sip of his hot chocolate and looked up to see his mom studying him. "What?"

"What happened between you and Taylor?" She asked. "You don't have to tell me, but I'm curious."

"The distance was harder than we thought it would be," Chad said after several minutes of trying to figure out how to answer her question. "And she met a guy."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," his mom said. She reached over and rubbed his hand. "Do you have any prospective girls at school?"

"Mom," Chad felt his face heat up.

"Oh," his mom smiled knowingly. "Who is she?"

"There might have been something," Chad said, staring into his hot chocolate. "But I messed it up."

"How'd you mess it up?"

"I kissed her."

His mom chuckled. "I think kissing is a good thing, unless she already had a boyfriend or told you no. Does she like you?"

"That's just it," Chad sighed. "I don't know how she feels about me. We were talking and I kissed her."

"But you like her, yes?"

"I don't know… maybe? I never really thought about it, ya know? I mean Greer's hot and everything, but I was in love with Taylor. I didn't look at other girls and Greer was in love with Owen. Then suddenly we were both broken hearted and we bonded over that and we were friends. Then I had to go mess everything up by kissing her."

"Greer? The pretty brunette that we met when we were visiting?"

Chad nodded.

"From what I recall she is a very nice girl and I'm pretty sure she'll want to talk about what happened between the two of you." She patted his hand. "But I think you should figure out what you want before you talk to her."

"Mommy! You're home!" Sabra exclaimed, running into the kitchen. She tugged on her mom's arm and whispered in her ear.

"You're right, Sabby, we should go do that," his mom said. "Go put your shoes on."

"Where are you guys going?" Chad asked.

"We have to go do some Christmas shopping," his mom smiled. "It's good to have you home, Chaddy Boy."

"Mom, do you have to call me that?" Chad asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." She kissed his forehead then grabbed her purse. "We'll be back in a couple hours. Paul is bringing home Chinese food."

Once his mom and sister were gone, Chad went upstairs and took a shower. He washed off two days of traveling grim and climbed out of the shower feeling like a new man. He got dressed then went into his room to unpack. He unzipped one of his suitcases and froze when he saw a nice wrapped present in there. One look at the sloppy scrawl told him it was from Braeden.

Fearing for the worst, Chad ripped off the paper and opened the box. Inside he found a green t-shirt and upon pulling it out of the box he laughed when he saw what was written on the shirt. The print on the shirt was meant to look like the Mountain Dew logo but instead of saying Mountain Dew it said "Mount And Do Me." Chad loved it and his mom would hate it.

Pulling out his cell phone, Chad called Braeden.

"You know, you were supposed to wait until Christmas to open that," his friend's sarcastic voice stated.

"Yeah, well next time you should write that on the box," Chad stated.

"True," Braeden said. "Do you like it?"

"My mom will hate it," Chad stated. "So therefore, I love it."

"Awesome," Braeden grinned. "So what time did you guys get back today?"

"We got back early this morning," Chad told him. "We left last night after Piper and Troy had a major fight."

"Wait, Troy and Piper fought?" Braeden said. "No wonder she's being bitcher than normal."

"Yeah, they ended whatever the fuck it was they had between them," Chad shook his head.

"Seriously? Well, shit," Braeden stated.

"What?" Chad asked.

"I don't think Troy will like my present that I got him," Braeden said. "You wouldn't by any chance want to go grab it before he opens it, would you?"

"What did you do?" Chad groaned.

"I made him a shirt that says "Warning: I Sleep With My Friends' Sisters," it would have been funny if he and Piper hadn't broken up," Braeden sighed.

"I'll see what I can do," Chad told him.

They talked for a few more minutes then Chad hung up the phone. He put his shoes on and grabbed his keys. Since Troy hadn't called him yet he was hoping he was still asleep. He parked his car in front of the Bolton's house then let himself into the house.

"Hi Mrs. Bolton," he called before running up the stairs to Troy's room. He knocked on his best friend's door and when Troy didn't answer he let himself in.

He found Troy lying in bed staring at the ceiling.

"Hey man," Chad greeted. "How ya doing?"

"How do you think I'm doing?" Troy grumbled.

"Alright, that was a stupid question," Chad said as he looked around the room. He saw Troy's suitcases lying open and his eyes spotted yellow fabric sticking out of the garbage can by Troy's desk. "Did your mom tell you I told her to have you call me?" He moved closer to the garbage can slowly.

"I haven't talked to anyone," Troy replied.

"You know he was just trying to be funny," Chad stated once he was sure it was Braeden's shirt in the garbage. "He didn't know you guys were going to do what ever it was you did."

Chad's cell phone rang before Troy felt like saying anything.

"It's Jason," Chad said, speaking of one of their high school best friends. "Hey Jase."

"Are you guys home?" Jason asked, excitedly.

"Yeah, I'm at Troy's house right now," Chad replied.

"Sweet! I'll call Zeke and we'll be over in five," Jason said and hung up before Chad could tell him not to come over.

"Zeke and Jason are coming over," Chad told Troy.

"Great," Troy muttered.

"Why don't you go shower," Chad suggested. "I'll keep them downstairs."

"I don't want -"

"I don't care what you want," Chad snapped. "Did it ever occur to you that something other than you and Piper breaking up happened this weekend while we were in Mexico? Did it, Troy? Did you really not notice that things were awkward around me and Greer at all?"

Troy groaned as Chad stomped out of the room. He pulled himself off his bed and went into the bathroom to shower. He really didn't want to deal with anybody, but the last thing he needed was Chad bitching at him too.

By the time he got downstairs, he found Chad sitting in front of the TV with their friends Jason Cross and Zeke Baylor.

"TROY!" Jason exclaimed. He jumped over the couch and gave him a big hug.

"Get off me," Troy stated.

"Alright, time for some basketball!" Jason exclaimed.

"We'll be out in a second," Troy told Jason and Zeke.

"Alright, but get ready to be schooled," Jason smirked.

"What?" Chad asked after their friends went outside.

"What happened between you and Greer this weekend?" Troy asked.

"I kissed her," Chad sighed. "Like full on make out, without the groping and stuff."

"Way to go?" Troy offered.

"It's not way to go," Chad shook his head. "I don't even know how she feels about me. We were talking about Taylor and Owen and I kissed her."

"You'll figure it out," Troy stated. "Just don't become her fuck buddy."

After grabbing bottles of water from the fridge, Troy and Chad went outside and played basketball with Zeke and Jason.

In the days that followed before Christmas, Chad split his time hanging out with his friends and helping him mom out around the house. Decorating wasn't something he enjoyed, especially after what Greer and Piper put him through, but he had given into his mom's pleas when she started to tear up and blabber about how he was growing up so fast.

A couple days before Christmas, Chad found himself talked into going to the mall with Zeke, Jason and Troy. They were wandering around the music store when they heard a female voice yell, "YOU'RE HOME!"

Chad turned just in time to see Sharpay Evans throw herself into Troy's arms.

"Uh, hi, Sharpay," Troy said.

"I'm so glad you guys are home," Sharpay smiled as she gave Chad a kiss on the cheek. "You guys totally have to come to my New Years Eve party."

"Oh, we're totally in," Jason stated.

"Taylor told me you two have become party boys, but I won't believe it until I see it," Sharpay smiled. She pulled a pen out of her purse, grabbed Troy's hand and wrote her phone number on his palm. "Call me and I'll give you the details."

"Dudes, we have to go to that party," Jason said. "We've only been in college for a semester, but parties at Sharpay's house are already infamous. Only the coolest of the coolest can get in."

"We can't go to a party," Chad stated. "Our dads will kill us."

"We're not in high school anymore Chad," Jason stated. "We're supposed to party."

"It didn't sound like you were invited," Zeke said. "Like you said only the coolest of the coolest get in."

Chad and Troy laughed.

"You weren't invited either," Jason stated.

"Yeah, actually, I was," Zeke smiled. "Got the text last night."

"Guess that means you're spending New Years alone," Troy teased.

"Wait, you're going?" Jason said, looking at Troy then at Chad.

"It's New Years Eve, our parents have their party, so why shouldn't we?" Troy stated. "We'll let you know how it goes."

"You guys have to take me," Jason whined as he followed his friends out of the store.

Two days later, Chad found himself rudely awaken by Sabra coming into his room.

"Chaddy, it's Christmas," she loudly whispered.

"Go away, Sabby," he groaned.

"But Santa came," she stated as she climbed onto his bed. "He brought presents!" Chad gasped for breath when his sister sat down with a plop on his chest. "Come on, Chadddy."

"Go wake up mom and dad," Chad told her.

"They told me wake you up because it's time for breakfast."

Chad rolled his head to the side and saw that the clock on his bedside table read 8:05 am.

"Alright, get out and I'll be downstairs in a second," he yawned.

Sabra smiled and kissed his cheek before she hopped of his bed and tore out of the room. Still half asleep Chad pulled on a pair of basketball shorts and a Wildcat Baseball shirt then went downstairs.

"Merry Christmas," he greeted when he saw his mom, Paul and Sabra seated around the breakfast table.

"Merry Christmas to you, too, Chaddy Boy," his mom smiled as she put a plate full of bacon and eggs in front of him.

"Mom, do you really have to call me that?" Ever since he had asked if she had to call him by that nickname, she had made a point to continue calling him that and it was starting to bug him.

"Del, he has a point. He's almost 19 years old, I think maybe you should drop the embarrassing nicknames," Paul said, coming to Chad's rescue. "Unless of course he brings a girl home, then I'm all for embarrassing him."

"I thought we were supposed to be nice at Christmas," Chad muttered.

"We are being nice," his mom smiled. "But I will stop calling you Chaddy Boy, but can I still call you C Bear?"

"Only when nobody else is within earshot," Chad stated.

"Deal," she smiled.

After breakfast the family of four went into the living room and opened their presents. His parents surprised him with tickets to several Spring Training baseball games that would be happening in Arizona and Sabra had gotten him a red polo shirt.

Once Paul's parents and sister arrived a few hours later they opened more presents from them and some of Paul's other siblings. Chad got a couple CDs, an iTunes giftcard and Paul's younger brother, who had just graduated college in June, sent Chad a rather explicative card and a giftcard to buy "a couple boxes of condoms." Needless to say, his "uncle" got his ear talked off by his and Chad's very upset mothers.

Following the presents, Chad found himself assigned the task of entertaining Sabra while his mom, Paul's mom and Paul's sister worked on dinner and Paul and his dad watched and talked football.

It wasn't until after Paul's parents and sister left that Chad finally escaped to his bedroom. He sat down in front of his desk with a very full belly and for once it wasn't because of junk food that he was eating.

Wanting to wish his friends at school a Merry Christmas, he logged on to Facebook and started looking through the feeds that had been posted while he was busy. Curiosity filled him when he saw that he had been tagged in a picture that Greer had been posted. He clicked on the picture and found himself staring at a picture of Greer and Piper's tree. Under the picture Greer had written:

_Mine and Piper's beautiful tree that Chad helped us put up_

It touched him that she had mentioned his name, especially since she had obviously posted these _after_ their kiss.

Clicking through the rest of the pictures in that album and then all the pictures she had on her Facebook, Chad paused on a close up of her face. She was beautiful with her big doe like eyes, her perfectly proportioned lips and her straight teeth. He loved that she never took herself too seriously and the pictures in her album emphasized that.

He found himself wondering what if. What if he asked her out? What if she said yes? Was he willing to risk the friendship they had built?

The last picture in the last album gave him his answer. In the picture, she was sitting at a table with a book in her hands and a wide smile on her face. She was obviously amused by something off camera, but what stood out to him was that she had given him that face several times during their brief friendship.

If she liked him and felt that dating was a good thing to do, he would ask her out.


	26. Chapter 26

Hey all! I know I said I'd update last week, but frankly, I was too lazy to do it. So here we are now :-D Enjoy the chapter! We'll update again as soon as Cate writes her chapter.

Thanks to Gorgeous Nick Stokes for reviewing the last chapter!

**----------------------**

**Chapter 26**

Troy had always loved Christmas. He loved buying presents for the people he cared about. Hell, he even loved wrapping them. Well, he really enjoyed covering all the open seams the wrapping left with excessive amounts of tape just to piss them off. But he only did that with the presents he knew they would really enjoy and therefore would forget all of their unwrapping frustration as soon as the gift was in their hands.

However, this Christmas was quite different. Prior to his mall excursion with Chad, Zeke, and Jason a few days before Christmas, the only gift he'd bought had been for Piper.

When he had been over at her place a few weeks before finals, he'd been unfortunate enough to come into what she and Greer apparently referred to as a "Buffy Fest," and he had been made to watch at least four episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a row before he lost count. The show was honestly better than he had thought it would be, and he had found himself really liking the ring that Angel gave Buffy on her 17th birthday. It was a claddagh ring and as soon as Troy saw it, he knew that he had to get one for Piper. It was commonly given out of friendship, but it was also nice to know that if they ever became something more, all she had to do was turn the ring around so the heart was facing her. It was the perfect gift for him to give Piper.

And now, it sat wrapped completely in Scotch tape and shiny red wrapping paper in his laptop bag, taunting him from its hidden confines as if to say that it should be on her finger by now, not sitting there suffocating in that bag. Troy kicked the bag for good measure on his way out of his bedroom.

He spent Christmas Eve and Day with his parents, only being forced into going to two awkward extended family gatherings where his great aunts cooed over how grown up and handsome he was and his grandpa kept trying to slip him cans of beer. It was Christmas as he had always known it, but the smile on his face was a false one this year. And it was all because of Piper.

Stupid Piper. Stupid sexy and smart Piper with her blonde hair and unbelievable body and a verbal bite so hard it almost stung. But never before had her words actually hurt him until she had told him that it was over. They had frustrated him before many times, but she had never really hurt him until she had delivered that final blow all because she hadn't let him hold her hand when he'd really wanted to.

Stupid, stupid Piper who he missed so much his heart literally ached in his chest. All he wanted to do was pull his cell phone from his pocket and call her. Just to tell her "Merry Christmas," of course, and then he would hang up. But as his hand reached for it, he knew he had to pull it back. Even though he was missing her for reasons he wasn't able to fully comprehend, there was no way she was missing him as well. The look on her face before she'd run up the stairs had been such a difficult one to read. Troy had become used to reading her hidden expressions, ones that lay just beneath the surface of her almost unreadable exterior. So seeing her with a look of such raw emotion had caught him off guard. He hadn't known what to do, so he had just stood there and allowed himself to be led out of the house by Chad.

Troy didn't remember most of the drive back to Albuquerque and that scared the shit out of him. Chad had been sleeping almost the entire way, trusting Troy to take him home safely, but Troy had been so numb he couldn't believe he had even directed Chad's car towards the right interstate. When Chad had stirred in the passenger seat of his own vehicle and asked Troy how the drive had gone, Troy was surprised to find himself sitting in the driveway of his parents' house. He had almost told Chad right then that he had been so zoned out he had missed most of it, but knew that it would be a really awful thing to tell the person you'd just taken along for the potentially very dangerous ride.

Troy looked at himself in the mirror on New Year's Eve, thinking that the nice dark washed jeans and light blue button up with the sleeves rolled to the elbows was the perfect look for Sharpay and Ryan's big casual-but-fun party. He had heard when he called Sharpay for the details that her twin brother, Ryan, was back in town to help with the festivities. Troy wasn't sure about what Ryan had wound up doing after high school, but suspected heavily that he might have brought his _boyfriend_ with him for the occasion.

"Are Sharpay and Ryan's parents going to be home tonight?" his mother asked him from the hallway, breaking him from his trance. He sighed and shoved his wallet in the back left pocket of his jeans.

"Mom, do you really want to know?" he asked, already knowing that she didn't. She had already given him cab fare and had put the number for a local taxi service in his cell phone just in case "the party went too late and he couldn't get a safe ride home." Troy appreciated the fact that she obviously knew he was planning to drink and wanted him to be careful, but he wished that she would drop the overly-protective act if she was really okay with everything.

"I guess not," she sighed, "I just have a hard time with you being so grown up. A year ago we wouldn't have let you go to this party."

"Yeah, well… a year ago I wouldn't have wanted to go in the first place. But, I haven't seen most of these people since summer and-"

"And that's why I'm fine with you going," she told him with a reassuring smile, stepping forward to brush away the imaginary wrinkles that apparently resided on the sleeves of his shirt before patting his cheek with her hand. "You look nice."

"Thanks, Mom. So do you. I hope you and Dad have fun at your party tonight."

"We will," she grinned, looking down at her long navy dress before fixing him with the Mom-look once more, "Make good decisions tonight, Troy." He nodded before heading out to meet Chad who was honking his horn insistently in the driveway.

"Are you ready to go have some fun?" Chad asked eagerly as soon as Troy had slid into the passenger's seat.

"If by that you mean, am I ready to go forget the last week ever happened, then yes. I'm ready."

"This whole Piper thing is really hard for you isn't it?" Chad asked. Troy didn't want to answer because answering made the feelings he was trying to suppress real. But Chad was his best friend and Troy was well aware of the fact that talking to someone about it would be a good idea, even if it was incredibly painful.

"It's awful," Troy admitted softly, "I didn't realize I'd gotten so… attached to her. Not talking to her is weird. It feels wrong."

"Well, I hope you two can work it out," Chad said, but Troy just snorted in response and stared out the window watching as his middle class neighborhood slowly gave way to the privileged upper-class development where the Evans' home resided tucked away far from the road in a thicket of trees Troy would have called a mini-forest if asked to describe the scene. Troy had never been to their place before but had heard all about it from Gabriella, who had become decent friends with Sharpay even though she knew what Sharpay had always wanted. Back in high school, Sharpay had made pretty much every effort imaginable to get Troy into bed. Or a custodian's closet. Or the backseat of her bright pink Mustang. Her efforts had been in vain because back then, he had only had eyes for Gabriella. Now, he mused, it seemed he did prefer blondes, and the thought made the ache in his chest reappear.

Once Chad had parked his car about halfway down their expansive, winding driveway, they headed towards the front door. It was open and they let themselves inside, Chad's mouth emitting a low whistle as they took in the foyer before them. The entire place was decorated in gold, silver, and black and there were people everywhere.

"Troy, I don't think we're in East High any more," Chad joked. Troy laughed.

"I don't think we're in Albuquerque any more," he responded before starting to lead the way through the throngs towards the place where people seemed to be congregating—the kitchen.

"Troy!" he heard Sharpay shout out. It took him only a second to find her in the crowd, her long blonde hair curled and held in place by a thin black headband and her body adorned in a shiny silver dress that left little to the imagination. But, the look wasn't out of the ordinary for Sharpay in the slightest. She used to wear things like to class in high school. But if Piper wore a dress like that…

Before he had time to complete that thought, she was in front of them with two black plastic cups.

"On the house," she winked before pushing the cups into their hands and going over to stand beside her brother again behind the island in the kitchen that was now serving as a bar.

"Check out these mother fuckers!" someone yelled out behind them. Chad and Troy turned around curiously to find Jason walking towards them with a very irritated looking Zeke in tow. "All these sexy bitches need to get naked, you know what I'm sayin', guys?"

"No one knows what you're saying," Zeke grumbled, busying himself by finishing off whatever liquid was in his cup.

"What the hell?" Chad asked Zeke.

"Don't ask. He gets like this when he's drunk. No idea why," Zeke sighed before accepting a fresh drink from Sharpay who had just bustled over to see what was going on. She took one look at Jason, who was trying to hit on some poor girl Troy had never seen before, before crinkling up her nose in disgust and retreating once more.

"He knows he's like, the whitest guy alive, right?" Chad laughed. Zeke just shook his head and emptied the contents of his glass directly down his throat. Troy watched as Jason attempted to grind on the girl who had been unfortunate enough to be nice to him for a few moments and went over to rescue her.

"J-Dawg!" Troy teased, grabbing Jason's shoulder and pulling him back towards the guys, "How's it going?"

"Shit, Troy! Why you gotta be all up in my grill?"

"Because her knee was about to be all up in your balls. Thank me tomorrow when you've returned to your normal self and you're still capable of having kids some day," Troy informed him. Jason just huffed and headed over towards Sharpay and Ryan to get another drink.

"What else have we missed?" Chad laughed. Zeke sighed and laughed along with them.

"Not much, to be honest. Jason's just special, but we already knew that right?" Zeke asked. Troy nodded and after a few minutes, excused himself to head over to the bar.

"What's your pleasure, Mr. Bolton?" Sharpay flirted.

"Oh my god, Shar," Ryan groaned before looking up at Troy, "How's it going, Troy? Need anything?"

"Just another drink. Or five," he told them.

"Will a few shots suffice?" Sharpay asked, pulling two shot glasses and a bottle of tequila from under then counter. He nodded and went around to the side of the island to join her. "So, what are we drinking to?"

"To a new year, I guess," Troy shrugged. Sharpay looked at him curiously for a moment before pouring the shots and pulling a little dish full of lime slices and a salt shaker from beneath the island as well. After they had downed the first, Troy closed his eyes and let the feeling of the burning alcohol warm and numb his chest. This, he immediately knew, was exactly what he needed. He needed to get shit-faced drunk until he couldn't even coherently think the name Piper let alone remember the sound of her voice, or the way she looked when she first woke up in the morning, or the way she tasted-

"Troy!" Sharpay said, snapping him from his reverie, "Ready for another?"

"Let's make it two," he said.

"Are you okay?" she asked him sincerely as she refilled the glasses.

"I'm getting there," he replied as honestly as he could. She placed her hand on his shoulder as they took their second shots and pulled herself closer as they did the third.

"I'm here if you need me, Troy. We can talk if you want to," she offered, and Troy was surprised to see that she was being entirely sincere. There were no hidden motives hidden behind her chocolate brown eyes.

"Thanks, Sharpay," he said, reaching forward to give her hand a quick squeeze before returning to the guys.

"Feeling better?" Chad leaned over to ask him.

"Ask me in about ten minutes and I'll let you know," Troy told him and let himself sink comfortably into the conversation he'd just joined. The shots served their purpose and he found himself feeling quite pleasantly drunk half an hour after his little shot-fest with Sharpay. The sounds around him swirled together, creating a whirring buzz that he let himself get lost in while he pretended to be invested in the discussion about the current state of the East High basketball team. Troy entertained himself by looking around, seeing how all of his old classmates looked and inspecting the new faces he suspected were from the University of Albuquerque. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, but wasn't surprised by that. If Sharpay Evans was anything, she was an entertainer, and he had been sure that she would throw one hell of a New Year's Eve party.

But then, Chad's elbow jabbed him hard in the ribs, breaking him from his happily numb daze.

"Shit, it's Taylor and Gabriella," Chad said through gritted teeth into Troy's ear. Troy sighed at Chad's urgent action and rubbed the spot where his ribs had just been violated.

"Chad!" Taylor exclaimed enthusiastically and Troy didn't even have to look at her to know that she was looking at his best friend with a come-hither look, her body adorned in something to remind Chad exactly what he was missing.

"Hi Taylor," Chad said, holding tight to his position next to Troy.

"How are you tonight?" Taylor asked, shoving herself in the circle next to Chad, leaving Gabriella standing awkwardly behind her. Troy knew that he should talk to her, but just couldn't find it within himself to do so. He really wished that he had Piper there to keep him busy like she had last time. And then, Troy felt his mood shift downward again.

"Drunk," he replied, even though he knew that Taylor hadn't been addressing him. He was no longer in a good mood and given Taylor's record of stomping all over Chad's heart, Troy certainly didn't care how he behaved in her presence.

"Great," Taylor said pointedly before turning her attention back to Chad, "You look great tonight."

"Thanks," Chad replied and Troy swore he could actually see Chad try to fight the instinctual urge to return the compliment.

"Want to go get a drink with me?" Taylor asked, putting her hand on Chad's arm and the rest of her body just a whisper away.

"Damn bitch! You'd best back up! Chad doesn't want any more of your slutty ass!" Jason blurted before bolting from the room at the truly evil glare Taylor shot in his direction. Zeke took advantage of the opportunity to leave by chasing after Jason and Troy just chugged the rest of his drink.

"Well?" Taylor asked Chad, trying her hardest to look and sound sweet even though she was visibly flustered by Jason's comment. Troy wondered how she could have possibly believed that Chad wouldn't talk to his friends about what she'd done to him.

"I don't think so, Taylor," Chad said.

"Why not? We're still friends, right?"

"Not so much," Chad told her, "You cheated on me and broke up with me. I think that I should be the one to decide if and when we ever become friends again." And with that, Chad started off towards the bar and Troy, being the ever-obedient friend, followed.

When they reached their destination, Troy ventured a look over and saw Taylor standing there alone, pretending to be looking around for someone, but it was rather obvious that she was panicking. Gabriella had disappeared in the last few seconds and Troy couldn't blame her. It was true that she was his ex, but he knew that she wasn't a bad person and anyone with even a semblance of good in them would be annoyed by Taylor and her ridiculous ways.

"Sharpay, I saw you with a bottle of tequila a while ago. What do you say you get that back out?" Chad asked.

"What is up with you two tonight? You look like someone died or something," Sharpay laughed before looking harshly at them, "No one died, did they?"

"No people were harmed, just our love lives," Troy drunkenly admitted.

"Oh, I didn't know you were seeing someone," Sharpay said trying to sound casual, but her disappointment was not lost on Chad.

"You really don't want to go there," he laughed before accepting a shot glass from her. She gave him a curious look before taking a shot with them. As they continued to chat and drink, Troy felt himself getting farther and farther gone and able to pay less and less attention to much of anything. He thought that Chad and Sharpay were ignoring him for the most part, so when he tried to grab the bottle to pour himself another shot, one he wasn't sure he needed but knew he wanted, he was surprised to see Sharpay's small hand close over his own, stopping him from turning the bottle over.

"I think you need to be done for a while, Troy. I just don't want you to get sick," she said, and even though he knew that she was right and that doing another shot would most likely put him beyond his limits, he still didn't like being told no at the moment. He yanked his hand free and instead of arguing the point with her, simply decided to walk away. The room was spinning slightly around him as he made his way out of the room and towards the foyer. From there, he took a quick look around and decided that he would go upstairs for a few minutes to sit down in the quiet in hopes that the room would stop spinning. As he slid onto the floor in the abandoned upstairs hallway, the memory of Piper leading him to the hallway during that one frat party came into his mind and he groaned, hugging his knees to his chest. Why was it that every time he had just cleared his mind, she had to push her way back in?

"Troy?" Sharpay asked hesitantly as she approached him, "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," he admitted softly, allowing his head to drop forward onto his knees. He heard her stilettos make their way across the carpeting and felt her sit down on the carpet beside him, the warmth of her bare arm pressing against his.

"Chad told me what happened with… Piper?" Sharpay said. Troy raised his head and nodded. "Well, it sounds like she didn't know what a good possibility she had right in front of her."

Troy wanted to defend Piper, but couldn't muster the energy. He'd spent so many days in a row mourning the loss of her from his life, wishing he could take back what he'd said to her, pretending that he didn't really care for her so she would still be in his life, and because of that, he couldn't find the strength to defend her honor. Instead, he just turned his head to look at Sharpay and caught a whiff of her sweet smelling perfume. She smelled like vanilla and he surprised himself by wondering if she tasted the same way.

Troy couldn't lie to himself and say that he didn't find Sharpay attractive. He always had. He did have eyes after all, and there was no denying that Sharpay was a truly excellent female specimen. There had been that one time freshman year when he had finally given in to her aggressive flirting and had made out with her after a football game behind the bleachers, but when she'd called him about twenty-five times the next day, he'd made the decision to avoid her as much as possible to make sure that she wouldn't turn into a full-on stalker. But now she seemed different. True, she had still been flirting with him the entire night, but she wasn't being overly pushy and all night she had seemed genuinely concerned about his well being.

So, when he felt the urge to lean over and press his lips to hers in a feeble attempt to lessen the ache in his chest, he went with it. It took her a moment to kiss him back as she was obviously shocked that after all those years, he was finally kissing her again. But after a few seconds, she allowed herself to really get into it and after several minutes of increasingly passionate kissing and groping, she was pulling Troy to his feet and guiding him down the hallway towards her bedroom.

"You look amazing tonight," Troy told her as he watched the dress he was complimenting drop to the floor, revealing a strapless black bra and matching thong.

"So do you," she told him, stepping forward so she could unbutton his shirt and push it from his shoulders. Once she had divested him of everything but his boxers, he led the way over to the bed where he sat down on the edge, allowing her to climb onto his lap, her lips immediately seeking his again. "God, I want you so bad." Instead of returning the sentiment, he simply kept kissing her, but allowed his hands to roam free, exploring the satin covered breasts in front of him. As his hands moved to the front clasp of her bra, he felt her pull back.

"What's wrong?" he asked breathlessly.

"Nothing," she grinned, "I just like this bra and kind of want to leave it on for a bit if that's okay. Gives me good cleavage." Troy tried to force out a falsely amused chuckle, but couldn't as another memory of Piper came into his head. A memory of her making a similar request the first night they'd slept together. "Troy?"

"I can't do this, Sharpay," he said abruptly, guiding her off of his lap and standing.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

"No, you didn't. It's just… I can't sleep with you when I have feelings for Piper. I can't get her out of my head and I just… I just can't."

"Troy, I'm sorry. If I'd known that you were, like, really in love with this girl, I wouldn't have-"

"In love with her?" Troy repeated, sounding shocked and pausing halfway through putting his pants back on before yanking them back on vigorously, "I have to go." Before he even had his shirt fully buttoned, he was out the door, making sure to close it tight behind him so Sharpay could redress. He yanked his cell phone from his back pocket and tore down the stairs, colliding hard Jason when he hit the main floor.

"Whoa! Slow down, dawg!" Jason said, "Oh, Troy! Do not go in the living room! Zeke and Gabriella are hookin' up against the wall! Shit's getting crazy in here!"

"What?" Troy asked, not sure he really believed Jason but fully sure that he didn't care even if he was telling the truth. But Jason was already distracted and gone and Troy could escape to the front porch to make a very important phone call.

As soon as he was out of the range of almost impenetrable noise, he let his finger dial Piper's speed dial number and waited for her to answer. He wasn't surprised when her voice mail picked up and he allowed himself to say everything he wanted to say to her right then and there. He didn't see any reason to hold back, because if he was ever going to be fully honest, it was right then. When he decided that he was finished, he asked her voice mail to call him back some time soon because he missed her and wanted to talk to her, and then he went back inside to find Chad.

Piper and Greer sat on the couch in their apartment, both of them wearing their pajamas and each cradling their own mostly gone bottle of champagne.

"I'm trying very hard to pretend that this isn't the most pathetic New Year's Eve we've ever experienced, but it's getting more and more difficult," Greer said, her eyes not leaving Carson Daly on the TV screen. Piper just hiccupped and brought the bottle to her lips once more. She was trying very hard to pretend that she didn't want Troy to be there so she could kiss him senseless at midnight. In fact, she was trying very hard not to think about him at all, but everything she saw reminded her of him. The Chinese food they'd ordered for dinner was from the same place she and Troy usually ordered from on Saturday nights if they didn't go out. The pajamas she was wearing were the same ones she'd worn the first night he spent the night with her. The champagne Greer had picked up for the night was the same kind she and Troy had drank in bed that one night and had wound up drinking more off of each other's naked bodies than from the flutes that sat on her bedside table. She groaned out loud and finished off the last bubbly bits of the liquid in her bottle before getting up and heading for the kitchen to grab another from the fridge.

"You should have bought six bottles," Piper informed Greer before shooting the cork across the room, hitting the wall squarely and hardly noticing the loud gunshot-like sound that reverberated through their apartment.

"Are you going to forgive him or am I going to have to deal with your moody ass for a few more weeks?" Greer asked sassily.

"Oh, like you're any better!" Piper cried before mocking Greer, "Oh! I kissed Chad and liked it! What do I do?"

"Oh, you mean I should do what you and Troy did and get involved in a messed up sex-only relationship that ends up with both of us getting really hurt? No thank you."

"Only one of us got hurt and that was Troy and his stupid girl brain," Piper rolled her eyes.

"Yes, because you're handling the separation so well," Greer drawled, "Just admit that you have feelings for him, Piper! It's okay. Troy's a great guy and you guys are really good together."

"Fine, I'll admit that I have feelings for Troy if you admit that you have feelings for Chad," Piper said, watching as Greer looked at her blankly, "Yeah, that's what I thought." Greer sighed.

"I just don't know where Chad and I stand. We've been really good friends, but then we made out after we were both talking about how sad and broken hearted we are? It was just really weird timing."

"So talk to him about it!" Piper said, "I've seen you look at his Facebook page about a million times since break started, so just buck the fuck up and call the guy!"

"I'll call him when you call Troy," Greer mimicked, receiving the same response from Piper that Piper had elicited from Greer a few minutes prior, "Yeah, that's what I thought." Piper just flipped Greer off and turned her attention back to the TV. The countdown showed that it was fifteen minutes until midnight when her cell phone started to ring.

"Shit, it's Troy," she said, looking at the screen. She let it ring several times before answering it quickly and putting it on speakerphone. Greer opened her mouth to protest but Piper held up a finger to silence her before pretending to be her voicemail message recording. "Hello, you've reached Piper Scott's phone. Please leave a message after the beep. Beep!" Troy's voice immediately filled their living room and Greer silenced the TV.

"Piper, it's Troy. I'm just calling to tell you that I've had a lot to drink tonight and I was just about to have sex with someone else, but I didn't! I couldn't because I was only really doing it to try to get you out of my head, but you just keep coming back in. I've been trying so hard for the past few weeks to get you out of my head, to pretend that I don't really care about you. But I do. I would say that I'm sorry for what I said to you and for acting the way I did when you didn't want to hold my hand, but I can't do that. Because, I'm not sorry for that. I do want to hold your hand and I do know what it means now.

"I love you. Shit, I didn't mean to say that. I mean, I think I might love you. You know, some day. You're the most amazing girl I've ever met. You challenge me and you make me feel alive. I'm sure that sounds really stupid and I know you think I'm too young for you, but I would be a great boyfriend to you. I would take care of you but give you the space I know you need. And, I bought you a Christmas present and it's still sitting in my room and I'd really like to give it to you if you'll let me, because I bought it months ago and want you to have it, even if you won't forgive me. But I hope that you will forgive me because I really miss you. In the last couple of months, I've come to need you in my life, Piper, and I'm not ready to give up on you yet. I don't know how much sense I'm making because I'm really drunk right now, but that's how you can know that I mean everything I'm saying. Please call me. I miss you." And with that, the line went dead.

"Whoa…" Greer breathed, looking over to find Piper staring at the phone with a few stray tears streaking down her drunkenly flushed cheeks. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Piper said, the statement ending in a sob. Greer reached over and immediately encased her best friend in a tight hug. She knew better than to say anything and just let Piper cry on her shoulder.


	27. Chapter 27

We totally suck, don't we? But we're finally updating!! And guess what... after this chapter there is only four left.... sad I know, but Cate and I were talking about the story and trying to decide where to end it and we decided that it would be best to end it before it turns into a soap opera or gets too predictable. We'll hopefully have that stuff for you soon... I'm going to work on my chapter here in a few minutes and hopefully we'll have another update for you soon.

Thanks to the lovely LoveIsLost29 for reviewing the last chapter.

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**Chapter 27**

The sound of someone pounding on the door woke a very hung over Chad up from his sleep.

"Rise and shine boys," Troy's dad declared as he came into the room where Chad and Troy were sleeping.

"Dad, go away," Troy grumbled as he pulled pillow over his head.

"No can do," his dad replied he opened the curtains and let the sun into the room. "I mean it guys, get up now."

"We're too tired to get up," Chad managed to mutter.

"I don't care if you're too tired, you're both going to get up and be ready to go get Chad's car, since you were too _tired_ to drive it, in five minutes," Troy's dad said firmly. "If you're not, your mothers will find out about your Mexico trip."

"We'll be ready," Troy groaned.

"There are two glasses of water and some aspirin on your desk," his dad said before leaving the room.

"I feel like I'm dying," Chad muttered as he stared up at the ceiling.

After Sharpay had left to find Troy the night before, Chad had done a few more shots with Ryan and Ryan's boyfriend Rick until Jason had stumbled over to him. With Troy and Zeke both doing disappearing acts, Chad decided to follow Jason around and keep his very drunk friend out of real trouble.

Chad found that following Jason around proved to be a good way of avoiding Taylor, who was still trying to corner him. That worked until twenty minutes before midnight when Jason declared he had to piss and Chad found himself literally trapped in a corner by Taylor.

"You know, Chad, I think you've been avoiding me," she said with one hand placed on his chest. "And all I wanted to say was I love your shirt and I'd love to mount and do you."

Chad gulped and he looked over her shoulder in search of someone to help him out of his situation - Ryan and Rick were working the bar, Troy was still missing, Sharpay was nowhere to be seen and Gabriella and Zeke were making out. His eyes shot back to Gabriella and Zeke, he definitely wasn't in East High anymore. It was like after graduating high school they had all stepped into an alternate universe where suddenly everyone was different then how they had been in high school.

Chad's eyes snapped to Taylor when he felt her grab his balls through his jeans.

"I was stupid for letting you go," she whispered as her hand began to massage him.

"Taylor, I -" Chad stopped when he saw Sharpay come into the room. He saw her look around the room and knew the minute that he caught her eye that something wasn't right.

"There's something wrong with Troy," Sharpay stated the second she was near Taylor and Chad. "He totally freaked out upstairs."

"We're busy here, Sharpay," Taylor said. "Troy is a big boy, he can deal with his own problems."

"Why? So you can hook up with Chad since your dumbshit boyfriend broke up with you?" Sharpay rolled her eyes before turning back to Chad. "Jason said he saw Troy go out front."

"Thanks." He took advantage of the fact that Taylor was glaring at Sharpay and slipped under her arm and headed for the door. He found Troy sitting on the hood of his car and walked over to him. "Hey."

Instead of replying, Troy handed Chad his phone with the number for the cab company displayed. Nodding, Chad called the cab company and gave them Sharpay's address then hung up.

"I'm going to go say goodbye to Sharpay and Ryan," Chad told him. He gave Troy back his phone and headed back into the house.

"Is he ok?" Sharpay asked, coming over to him.

"I'm not sure," Chad replied honestly. "He's outside waiting for the cab."

"Tell him I said Happy New Year," Sharpay said as Dick Clark announced there was only a minute to midnight.

"I will," Chad nodded. He felt Taylor slide her arm through his and shook his head. "See ya around, Sharpay." He pulled his arm free of Taylor and walked out of the house as the countdown began.

He joined Troy on the hood of his car and leaned back against the windshield to wait for the cab as the night sky lit up with fireworks.

The cab arrived ten minutes later and as Chad was climbing in the backseat after Troy, he heard Jason yell his name. He looked up and saw his drunk friend being helped down the steps by Zeke and Gabriella.

"We're gonna have a threesome!" Jason shouted.

"No we're not," Chad heard Zeke say as he climbed into the car. "We're taking you home and leaving."

Keeping with tradition, and the fact that he didn't want his mom to know he had gotten drunk, Chad had spent the night at Troy's house. Since he and Troy had both slept in their clothes from the night before, neither was in a hurry to get moving.

"LET'S GO," Troy's dad called through the door.

Chad groaned and forced himself into a sitting position then a standing one. He gave Troy a shove with his foot then grabbed a couple aspirin and washed them down with water. Then he headed to the bathroom. He did his business then splashed water on his face. In his opinion, he looked as crappy as he felt.

When Chad came out of the bathroom, Troy was shoving his feet into his shoes. Together, they left Troy's room and found Troy's parents in a romantic embrace.

"We'll be in the car," Troy stated, startling his parents. He and Chad headed out to the car and his dad followed a couple seconds later.

"So what's up with your lady friend, Piper, isn't it?" Troy's dad asked as he drove to the Evans' house.

"I don't want to talk about it," Troy muttered.

An uneasy feeling settled over them and Chad distracted himself by reading the text messages that he had missed and rolled his eyes when he saw that all five were from Braeden.

_Happy New Years bitches!  
_

That was followed by a text sent ten minutes later.

_WTF? R u asleep?_

Then the last three came within a three minute bubble.

_Dude. Please tell me u rnt mopin._

_Damnit. U 2 R just like G and P._

_U all fuckin depress me._

Chad shook his head and sent back a message.

_U sound like a nosy bitch. We got smashed with old friends. Fucking weird._

After tucking his phone back into his pocket, Chad let his mind wonder what Braeden meant by moping like Greer and Piper. Did he mean that they had been downers at what ever party they had gone to or had they not gone to any parties? And did he mean that both were moping or just Piper? He was tempted to call Braeden, but decided against it since he wasn't sure if Braeden knew about the kiss.

Once Troy's dad pulled up in front of the Evans' house, Chad said goodbye and climbed out. He shot Sharpay a quick text saying he had picked up his car then climbed in the front seat. He started the car and was halfway down the driveway when he saw Taylor come out of the house, waving her arms. Pretending not to see her, he stepped on the gas pedal and tore out of the Evans' driveway.

He went straight home, planning on taking a shower then going back to sleep. His mom had other ideas and roped him into helping her take down all the Christmas decorations and help setup for Sabra's princess themed birthday party that was scheduled for the next day.

It wasn't until after dinner that Chad got to take a shower and have a few moments to himself. His thoughts immediately went to Greer and what she was doing. He missed talking to her, but he didn't want to talk to her on the phone because the conversation they needed to have had to be done in person. He and Troy planned to leave for Tucson at eight on Saturday morning and Chad had already decided he was going to talk to Greer as soon as they got back.

After his shower, Chad returned to his room and checked his phone for messages-3 new voicemails.

"_Chaddy, you got some 'splain' to do_," Kevin said in his best Ricky Ricardo impression.

"_You know, I really wish you and Troy had sisters closer to your age so you would know how it feels when your friends make out with your sisters_," Braeden said in a snarky voice. "_Fuckin' bitches_."

Well Braeden knew. Chad briefly wondered if he would get a shirt that matched Troy, though he hadn't slept with Greer.

"_Hey baby, it's me. I was just calling to invite you over to watch a movie. My sister is visiting her boyfriend in Colorado so I have the place all to myself. Call me."_

Chad sighed as he deleted Taylor's message. He had almost given into her advances last night, especially after she had started touching him. He would have been fucking pissed, more at himself than her, if he had done anything, especially after Sharpay revealed that Taylor and the meathead were no longer together.

It pissed him off that Taylor was acting like nothing had gone down between them and that nothing had changed. But he had meant what he said that night about being done with her for good and the sooner she realized that the better.

The next morning, Chad was woken up earlier than he wanted to be by his mom.

"I need you to get dressed and run to the grocery store for me," she told him. "Then I need you to go to the bakery and get the cake and the party store to get the balloons."

"Can't I just babysit?" Chad groaned.

"If by babysit you mean your sister and three of her friends, sure," his mom smiled.

"I'll shop."

"That's what I thought."

Fifteen minutes later, Chad was throwing things into the shopping cart at the supermarket. Taking the opportunity, he shoved a few things into the cart to take back to school with him. By the time he was done shopping and running his mom's errands it had been three hours and he was ready for a nap.

But all thoughts of sleep left his mind when he saw Taylor standing at the kitchen door after he'd opened the garage.

"Oh good you're here," his mom said, pushing past Taylor.

"What's she doing here?" He hissed.

"She's helping us out," his mom replied.

"But -"

"She helped Sabra plan the party, Chad," his mom cut him off. "I couldn't tell her she couldn't help."

Chad wanted to tell her that she could, but he bit his tongue.

"Taylor, come grab the balloons," his mom called to her. "I'll grab the cake."

Chad swore under his breath as Taylor walked past him with a sly smirk on her lips.

He waited until Taylor and his mom were back in the house before he called Troy.

"What?" His friend answered.

"Get your ass over here," Chad ordered. "Taylor is here and I need back up."

"Chad," Troy sighed.

"I'm serious, Troy," Chad said. "Besides, we could use the help. There's gonna be like twenty 4 and 5 year olds here."

"Fine, I'll be there in twenty," Troy yawned.

Chad hung up and carried the groceries into the house. His mom sent Taylor out to entertain the little girls who had already arrived while he helped her put together lunch and the other treats.

"Troy better get here soon," Chad muttered when he heard the doorbell ring thirty minutes later. He knew his best friend wouldn't bother ringing the doorbell.

"GREER!" He heard his sister shout with excitement.

"Greer?" His mom said. "We didn't invite a Greer." Chad froze in the middle of peeling an orange. "Wait, isn't that the name of the -"

Chad dropped the orange, wiped his hands off on his jeans and left the kitchen. He rounded the corner into the entry hall and froze when he saw Greer standing at the front door, Sabra's small arms wrapped around her waist and Taylor glaring at her.

"Hey Chad," Greer said, the smile on her face hesitant. "Happy New Year."

"Chad, what is _she_ doing here?" Taylor asked, trying to slip her arm through Chad's, but he moved.

"I invited her," Sabra said, oblivious to the tension in the room.

"Is everything ok in here?" Chad's mom asked coming into the entry hall. "Hello Greer, it's nice to see you again."

"You too, Mrs. Walker," Greer nodded.

"Taylor, why don't you get the girls started on the first party game," Chad's mom suggested.

"Yeah!!" Sabra exclaimed.

Once Taylor and the little girls were back in the living room, Chad's mom leaned over to him and whispered, "Why don't you give Greer a tour of the house?"

"Ok," Chad nodded. He looked at Greer then motioned towards the stairs. "Come on." He led her up to his room and closed the door behind her. "You're here. You're at my house."

"Yeah," she nodded, pulling a hand through her hair. "Are you and Taylor- did you guys get back together?"

"No!" Chad answered quickly. "I mean, she wants to, but I don't want to be with her."

"Oh," Greer said, softly.

"So, um, how'd you know where I lived?" He asked.

"We stole your addresses from our dads' files," she shrugged.

"Wait, we, addresses and dads as in plural?" Chad asked. "Does that mean Piper is here too?"

"No," Greer said quickly.

"I don't believe you," Chad smirked. "No wonder Troy isn't here, hopefully they're talking."

"They aren't the only ones that need to talk," Greer stated.

"I know we need to talk, but at my sister's birthday party doesn't seem like the best place," he said. "How about after the party, we go out for dinner?"

"Like on a date?" Greer asked.

"Yeah, like on a date," he nodded.

"Ok," she smiled.

Standing face to face, his eyes dropped to her lips and he was leaning in to kiss her when he heard his sister yell Troy's name. He and Greer both snapped back, looked at each other then hurried down the stairs just in time to hear Sabra tell Troy that Greer was here.

"What's going on?" Troy asked when he saw Chad and Greer. "Is Piper here?"

"She was supposed to be with you," Greer stated.

"Well she's obviously not," Troy snapped.

"She dropped me off here twenty minutes ago and said she was going straight to your house, did you come from there?" Greer asked.

"No, I came from the dorms," Troy replied sarcastically.

"Let's go to the kitchen," Chad suggested, he pushed Troy towards the kitchen then took Greer's hand and followed him. Once they were in the kitchen he looked at Greer. "Why don't you call Piper and find out where she is."

"Already on it," Greer said as she hit the speed dial number for Piper.

"Hey," Piper answered after the third ring.

"Where are you?" Greer asked.

"I'm with Troy."

"No you're not."

"Yes, I am. I'd let him talk to you, but he just left to go to the bathroom."

"At Chad's house?"

"What?"

"I know you're not with Troy, because Troy is standing with me and Chad at Chad's house."

Piper didn't respond.

"Piper, where the hell are you?"

"I just need time," Piper finally said. "I can't face him yet, I'm not ready."

"You were so confident on the ride here, what happened?" Greer asked.

"I don't know I just-" Piper trailed off and Greer could hear her talking to somebody on her side of the phone call.

"_Do you need any help miss?"_

"I'm on the phone, so no I don't need help."

"_Oh, my apologies, but if you need any help my name is Sharpay_."

"Sometimes I wonder what parents think when naming their kids," Piper said to Greer. "This sales chick's name is the same as that breed of dog you had when you were little."

"You mean Sharpei?" Greer asked.

Chad and Troy exchanged looks.

"Yeah that was her name," Piper nodded. "But like I was saying, I'm not ready to talk to Troy yet."

"But that's why you came here," Greer reminded her as she shooed Chad away. "You need to talk to him."

"I will when I'm ready," Piper said. "I just need to think some more. I'm turning my phone off, so I'll call you later."

"Piper, wait!" Greer said, but Piper had already hung up. She turned around and found Chad and Troy standing right behind her. "What?"

"Why did you say Sharpay?" Chad asked her.

"Piper met some sales clerk with the name," Greer said. She started to shake it off, but froze. "Wait, Sharpay? Like the name of the girl you had your first kiss with?"

"I only know one Sharpay," Chad stated.

"She used to work in the mall," Troy said, suddenly. "If she still does, maybe I can go find Piper."

"I don't know," Greer said, uneasily. "She -"

"The Express!" Chad cut her off. "That's where Sharpay works."

"Guys, I don't think this is a good idea," Greer said, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Chad wants to date you," Troy said and ran out of the kitchen after successfully distracting Greer from her attempts to stop him from going after Piper.

"I'm going to kill him," Chad muttered as he shook his head. "I wanted to tell you myself and I don't want you to feel pressured to -"

"I want to date you, too," Greer cut him off. "I really like you, Chad."

"Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised," she said. "You're a great guy, Chad, and I -"

"Time for presents," his mom said, poking her head into the kitchen.

"We'll finish talking later," Chad said. He took Greer's hand and they went into the living room to watch his sister open her presents.

Greer could feel Taylor glaring at her the whole time, but refused to drop to the eighteen-year-old's catty level. She had her chance with Chad and she blew it.

The last present Sabra opened was from Greer and she hoped both Sabra and Chad would like it.

"What is it?" Sabra asked after her mom helped her pull out the University of Arizona snow globe.

"It's a snow globe," her mom explained.

"Like the Christmas ones?" Sabra asked.

"Exactly, except this one has the school that Chad goes to in it instead of Santa's workshop," her mom smiled.

"What a stupid gift," Taylor muttered only loud enough for Chad and Greer to hear her.

"I think it's a great gift," Chad said, loudly. "Now when you miss me you can shake it and think of me."

Sabra ran over and gave Greer a hug, just as she had done with the rest of her guests. "Thank you," she smiled up at Greer.

"You're welcome," Greer smiled.

"What did you get me?" Sabra asked, looking at Chad.

"I already told you what we were doing for you birthday, remember?" Chad said. He bent down and whispered in his sister's ear. She looked at him and nodded. He smiled.

"Do you wanna come with us to the zoo tomorrow?" Sabra asked, looking at Greer.

"Really?" Greer asked. Sabra nodded. "Then sure."

Chad smiled at his sister and at Greer.

"Can Taylor come too?"

Chad blinked and looked down at his sister. "I'm sure she already has plans," he told her.

"I don't," Taylor stated and Chad shot her a glare. "And I love going to the zoo."

Chad looked at his mom for help and she just shrugged. A lot of help she was. He looked at Greer and mouthed 'sorry,' before he turned to Taylor and said, "Sure, you can come with us."

"Yeah!!" Sabra clapped. "Cake?"

After the party ended, the guests left and it was all cleaned up, Chad and Greer found themselves not going out like they had planned. Instead they had allowed themselves to get talked into watching a movie with Sabra. Then they had a dinner of pizza with his parents and Sabra.

When Piper called during the middle of dinner they found out that she and Troy hadn't met up and that she just wanted to be alone, which left Greer without a place to stay. So Chad's parents' offered her extra twin bed in Sabra's room.

When it was time to go to bed, Chad loaned Greer a pair of his basketball shorts and one of his East High Basketball shirts.

"Good night," she said. She kissed his cheek then went into the bathroom to change clothes.

Chad went into his room with a smile on his face that fell once he remembered his pending trip to the zoo. He thought about calling Troy, but decided ambushing him in the morning would be better.

The next morning ran smoothly at first. Chad's mom loaned Greer some clothes to wear to the zoo and Chad woke up on his own for the first time in weeks. But as soon as Taylor arrived, things got complicated, especially since she insisted that she _had_ to ride in the front seat of the car or she would get carsick.

So as soon as they were in the car, Chad headed to Troy's house first and left the girls in the car while he went inside to get Troy up.

"Leave me alone," Troy muttered.

"Troy, you have to help me," Chad cried.

"What if Piper shows up and I'm not here?" Troy stated.

"She'll call Greer," Chad said. "And we'll bring you back here or she can meet us at the zoo. Please man, you gotta help me out."

"Fine," Troy said giving in. "But you owe me."

Fifteen minutes later, Troy and Chad returned to the car and they were on their way to the zoo. Once there, Troy agreed to give Sabra a piggy back ride into the zoo while Chad and Greer held back a little.

"This isn't how I pictured our first date," he admitted to her.

"It's ok," Greer replied, taking his hand in hers.

"So you're a senior right?" Taylor asked Greer as the five of them were walking through the zoo on their way to the monkey area.

"Yeah," Greer nodded.

"So you're probably looking at jobs and grad schools and stuff," Taylor said. "And looking for like permanent things, like committed relationships."

"Yeah, I guess," Greer said, glancing at Chad.

"I have to go potty," Sabra announced.

"I'll take her," Greer offered. She took Sabra's hand and they went off to find a bathroom.

"What the hell is was that about, Taylor?" Chad demanded as soon as Greer and Sabra were out of earshot.

"What? I was just asking her questions," Taylor stated. "And face it, Chad; she's at a different place in her life than you are. You need somebody who is going through what you're going through."

"The one who needs to face anything is you," Chad told her. "I'm with Greer now, she's my girlfriend. Anything that was ever between you and me is gone, _forever_. The sooner you realize that, the better."

Instead of replying, Taylor looked over at a pair of monkeys that were conversing and a smile crossed her face. "Does that sound familiar to you, Troy?"

"Does what sound familiar?" Troy asked.

"The sounds those monkeys are making," Taylor said.

"Um, no." Troy looked at Chad confused.

"Really? Because that's what Gabriella said you sounded like during sex, not that she realized that until that night we were visiting you guys in September and you woke Gabriella up with your screeching," Taylor stated.

Troy's eyes opened and he snapped his head to look at Chad. "That's why you guys make monkey noses and laugh!" He exclaimed.

"Guilty," Chad said, biting his lower lip. "Hey look, Greer and Sabra are back."

"Chaddy, I'm hungry," Sabra whined.

"Alright, let's go," Chad said.

"You were right," Greer smiled as she slipped her hand in Chad's. "Troy does sound like the monkeys."

"Yeah and Taylor told him," Chad stated.

They spent a few more hours at the zoo and decided it was time to go when Sabra got cranky. Chad drove Troy home and Greer, who was sitting in the front seat, grabbed his arm and pointed to Piper's empty car that was parked across the street from Troy's house.


	28. Chapter 28

Totally meant to post this last night and I completely forgot... but anyway, here is the fourth to last chapter of the story. Cate plans to write her chapter this week so hopefully we'll have another up for you guys soon. So enjoy!

Thanks to XxXLIFEafterDEATHXxX for reviewing the last chapter.

**Chapter 28**

Troy's heart started thudding in his chest when he saw Piper's car parked in the street. In his parents' street. She was there. As soon as Chad put the car in park, Troy ripped open the door and ran up to the house. He knew she might not be there to give him any sort of good news, but he missed her and seeing her face would be good enough regardless of what words came out of her mouth.

The doorknob turned freely beneath his palm and he forced himself to calm his outward appearance before walking inside. He could hear voices in the kitchen and immediately discerned that Piper was in the kitchen talking to his father, a realization that made him pick up the pace to save her from his dad's weird comments. When he rounded the corner, he was surprised to see that his mom was with them as well, all of them sitting around the kitchen table chatting. Piper looked tired but beautiful, as her eyes met his across the room.

"Hi," he said, meaning the greeting only for her, but his mother responded instead.

"Hi honey. How was the zoo?" she asked.

"Okay," Troy answered, trying to be polite to his mom, but obviously wanting to talk to Piper in private.

"Look who showed up on our doorstep a few minutes ago," his dad chimed in lamely, as if Troy hadn't noticed Piper sitting there.

"Hi Troy," she said softly.

"She came to give you a ride back to school. Wasn't that nice of her to volunteer?" his mom asked. Troy nodded dumbly. "You'd better get your things together so you can get on the road."

"Yeah, don't let us keep you from taking her up to your room," Jack winked, causing Troy to close his eyes and take a deep breath. He heard a chair scrape against the floor as someone stood and he knew that it was Piper without even opening his eyes. Troy just turned and started down the hall before opening them again, finding Piper by his side. She followed him up the stairs wordlessly and went to sit on his bed as he bustled around the room throwing things haphazardly back into the duffle bags that had been lying in the corner.

"Sorry… I wasn't planning on leaving until tomorrow morning," he said to explain the disarray of his bedroom.

"I know. I just texted Greer and she's going to leave with Chad in the morning. But we really need to talk and I can't do it at your parents' house. Your dad is really creeping me out…" she said, shaking her head.

"I don't know what his problem is. I'm sorry for whatever he said to you," Troy told her, thankful that for at least a few minutes they could ignore the big conversation they were destined for. Once he was satisfied that he had packed everything he had brought, including the two big bags of now clean laundry, he went to shove his laptop in its bag, only to find that its entry into the bag was being hindered by something. He pulled the computer back out with a sigh only to find that Piper's Christmas present was the culprit.

"Are you almost ready?" Piper asked, glancing at her watch. Troy thought about giving her the present right then as a sort of initial peace offering, but decided against it, shoving the box to the side so the computer could slide in easily.

"Ready," he announced, wishing that she would give him a smile or any response that resembled their old relationship, the one that had existed freely and naturally until that awful night. Piper gave him a weak smile before pushing herself from the mattress and following him out the door.

"Are you two taking off?" Troy's mom asked.

"Looks like it," Troy said, "Thanks for everything."

"Any time," she smiled, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, "Call us tonight to let us know that you got back okay." Troy saw the tears forming in his mom's eyes and hoped that she could keep it under wraps until they got out of the house. Piper was _sure_ to mock him further for being a momma's boy.

"Call us _tomorrow_," Troy's dad clarified, "Drive safely." Troy raised his eyebrow slightly as his dad shook his hand after hugging him, only to realize that his dad had just slipped some money into his hand. After a sneaky inspection as they headed towards the door, Troy saw that it was a twenty dollar bill and knew that it was his dad's intention for him to buy Piper some dinner on their way home. He put his things in Piper's trunk and then slid in the passenger's seat.

"I need to get gas," Piper said simply, "Where should I go?"

"There's a place right by where you'll get on the interstate with a Subway attached. You want a sandwich for the road? I can get it while you fill up."

"Sure," she said, her eyes not leaving the road as she made her way through the streets expertly, as if she'd driven the roads a thousand times before. Troy wondered briefly how many times she'd practiced the trip, and as he saw the printed directions stuffed between her seat and the console, he suspected that it had been more than a few. They drove to the interstate in silence, watching as Albuquerque passed out of sight. Piper pulled into the gas station he'd described a few minutes later and they were on the road with their dinner in hand within fifteen.

"So…" she said, for once at a loss for words, apparently. Troy wanted to laugh at that, but couldn't and just waited for her to continue, "How drunk _were_ you when you called me on New Year's Eve?"

"Very," he answered honestly, "Why?"

"You were in true ramble mode," she told him, "And you said that you loved me. Well, you said that someday you thought you _could_ love me."

"I was drunk," he offered as a lame excuse. He didn't remember saying that to her, but he _did_ think that. It didn't mean he was even remotely ready to say the words for real, but he honestly believed that if he was really with her, that it might become something real some day.

"Don't make excuses. Drunk people always say what they're afraid to say when they're sober. All alcohol does is remove your filter, it doesn't make you lie."

"I meant it. I _mean_ it, but I didn't mean to say it to you. I mean, if you don't even want me to hold your hand, I know you definitely don't want me to say that I think I might love you some day."

"It's not that I didn't want you to hold my hand, Troy. I had just never thought about us like that before and it freaked me out. I'm about to graduate, start my life and you're just starting your college career. It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"But it is."

"Yes, it is," she said, then unwrapping her sandwich with one hand and taking a bite, letting him know nonverbally that the conversation was put on hold. He sighed heavily and did the same, forcing himself to enjoy the meatball sub while it was still warm. Once he had finished his sandwich and set out the bag of cookies on the console so Piper could have one if she wanted, he took to watching her out the corner of his eye. She didn't look mad or even irritated, but her jaw was set determinedly nonetheless. He wanted to go back in time so they could be joking around with each other, not in the middle of a big, deep conversation that would likely end in a final determination as to the future of their "relationship."

When it became clear that Piper was not going to be resuming her part of the conversation any time soon, nor was she going to talk to him _period_, he eventually gave up and let himself doze as she drove. He woke up hours later and found that the sun had gone down and Piper was now listening to the horrible CD she and Greer made himself and Chad listen to on their way to Mexico.

"We'll be there soon," she told him, obviously noticing that he had finally woken up. He grumbled in recognition and straightened himself and his clothes out.

"Sorry I fell asleep like that," he apologized.

"It's fine. I needed the time to think anyway," she said, but didn't continue. Troy bit back an annoyed sigh and just let her drive. What she was waiting for, he didn't know, but he cared enough to hear her words that he knew it would be worth the wait. True to her word, she pulled into the parking spot in front of her apartment about a half hour later. Troy was happy that she had brought him to her place. That meant that they were going to talk, not that she was going to keep chickening out, which was what Troy had determined she was doing. They got their things out of the car and brought them inside silently, Troy setting his in the living room and Piper running hers upstairs before she came down again to meet him.

"Can we finish our talk now?" Troy asked, sitting down on the couch and grabbing a throw pillow so he could hug it to his chest.

"Yeah. I'm sorry that I'm being like this. I just have a lot to say and I want to make sure that I say it all," she started, sitting down close enough to him for it to be intimate, but not so close that it would be distracting. She was close enough that he could smell a faint trace of her perfume and he breathed it in as she continued, "I like you, Troy. You're a good guy. At first, I just thought that you were hot and I knew that I _wanted_ you, and that's why I suggested our arrangement. I'll admit that for those first few times we were together, I assumed that you were just a stupid immature freshman like my brother. I was wrong. You showed me that you were better than that.

"I have been very much in denial about things… about _us_, because this isn't how things were supposed to go, like I said in the car. It wasn't supposed to last more than a few times. It wasn't supposed to be amazing. It wasn't supposed to get to the point where all I could think about all day was when I was going to call you and demand that you come over. It wasn't just about sex any more, but I really wanted to pretend that it was.

"You know about Preston. I was a freshman and he was a senior and it didn't work. That's been the main reason why I've been so reluctant to admit that there was the potential for something else between us. I should have known that it would be different between us than it was for myself and Preston, but again, I was being stubborn," she said.

"Piper, I don't know when I started having feelings for you. It was just about the sex for me at first, too, because you were so rude to me when we first met. I didn't know why I wanted you so badly despite that, but I did and that's why I went along with things. But when we were alone together, I got to see that other side of you, the one you don't let a lot of people see, and that's when things started to change without me even realizing it. I know that we don't make sense, but-"

"It's not that we don't make sense, Troy, it's just that our situation is really hard," she sighed, "I don't want to be the girl who doesn't really leave college for years after she graduates because she's always back in the dorms visiting her boyfriend. And I don't want _you_ to be the guy who doesn't really get to experience college because he's always away visiting his girlfriend who already graduated."

"I don't want those things either," Troy said honestly, "But I want _you_, and if that's what it takes to be with you, then I'll make it work. _We_ can make it work."

"But, you're a _baby_," she tried to tease him, but her words came out tense, choked in tears she was trying to fight off.

"And you're a bitch," he said, scooting closer and whispering the last words as he cupped her face in his hands, "But I'm crazy about you." She took a deep shuddering breath before responding.

"I'm crazy about you, too," she managed before moving forward to kiss him hard on the mouth. He kissed her back aggressively, finding that the taste of her mouth was even more intoxicating now after such a long separation than it usually was. Piper moaned into his mouth and ripped the pillow from his lap so she could climb onto it, immediately closing all of the space between them. Apparently, Troy thought to himself, Piper had been missing him as much as he had been missing her. After several minutes of incredibly hot making out, Piper pulled back with a gasp and yanked her black turtleneck from her body, throwing it over her shoulder before divesting him of his own shirt. He smiled against her lips as he felt her fingers trace over his now naked torso. Without warning, he turned them quickly and dropped Piper to her back on the couch, unbuttoning her jeans and pulling them down before covering her body with his own once more.

"I missed you," she said in a voice that was surprisingly tender. Troy moved to kiss her but found her hand planted in his chest to keep him away, "But take off your pants. _Now_." He stood quickly and did as told, removing his boxer briefs as well for good measure before placing a series of kisses to her stomach as he quickly slid her panties down her legs.

Troy placed an intentionally teasing kiss to her inner thigh, letting his lips linger there for longer than necessary. Then he climbed over her, slowly lowering himself onto her and taking a moment to fully appreciate the feeling of their bodies pressed perfectly together.

"You're an awful tease. You know that?" she asked breathlessly with a little smile, obviously too turned on to even feign sternness with him. He just nodded and kissed her, savoring the taste of her mouth and realizing how utterly painful it had been to not have her around. Troy knew that he could have taken all night just appreciating the moment, but Piper obviously had other plans. He could feel her wiggling her hips against his, hoping that he would get things started soon. As he was _more_ than up for the job, he kissed her deeply and loved the moan she left in his mouth as he filled her slowly. If she wanted to get started, that was fine, but he was going to take the time to memorize every single inch of her body and she was going to have to deal with it.

"You feel incredible," he managed, finding that he was holding his breath. Piper just groaned and thrust one hand above her head, grasping for the closest thing in reach and apparently finding the arm of the couch adequate. Troy allowed himself to get lost in the feeling as he moved slowly in and out of her body, feeling like he could lose control at any second. To distract himself from that feeling, the one that would ruin the wonderful moment, he let his mouth trail over her exposed skin that he could reach easily, leaving kisses all over her neck, mouth, and chest.

"Troy!" she gasped and he felt her thighs tighten around him, causing him to instinctually increase his tempo, which was the catalyst Piper needed to explode around him bringing them both to an intense and unbelievable orgasm. Troy thought for a moment as he lay his head lightly on her heaving chest, that if he could experience only one feeling for the rest of his life, it would be _that_ and he would be one deliriously happy bastard for the rest of his days.

"Wow…" he trailed off, hugging her tight under him as they both tried to regain normal body function.

"Wow is right," she laughed lightly. As they lay there, Troy couldn't help but smile against her damp skin, thinking how interesting it was that they had the best sex they'd ever had right after admitting that they had feelings for each other. He found that _very_ interesting indeed, but didn't dare bring it up. If he knew Piper at all, and he surely hoped he did, he knew that it was not the right time to bring something like that up. If there ever _was_ such a time, that was. After they had gotten themselves together and had taken a truly wonderful shower together, they settled in on the couch with beers, ready to find something on TV.

"Oh!" Troy exclaimed suddenly, shooting up and racing over to his computer bag where he retrieved the small red box.

"Everything okay over there?"

"Yeah," he smiled, coming over to sit back down and setting the box on her leg.

"What's this?" she asked, trying not to show how curious she was.

"Open it!" he laughed at her, "It's your Christmas present." She set her beer down on the coffee table before carefully unwrapping the present, gasping when she had finally opened the box.

"It's a Claddagh ring!" she said, "This is _perfect_! Thank you, Troy!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him closely before taking the ring carefully from the box.

"I did some research, and apparently they had it wrong on Buffy. You're supposed to wear it on your right hand until you're married. If you wear it with the heart facing out, it means your heart is open and available; that you're single. If you wear it with the heart facing _in_, it means that you're under love's spell. But regardless of how you wear it, the hands stand for friendship and the crown stands for loyalty. I just thought it was a good thing to get you." She nodded and toyed with the small silver object in her fingers for a few seconds and Troy realized that she was debating how to put it on. When she finally slid it on her right hand ring finger, she hardly knew what hit her when Troy started to kiss her again. The heart was facing in.

Troy finally made his way back to the dorms around two in the afternoon the next day and found Chad inside putting his things away.

"So, how'd the big talk go?" Chad asked. Troy smiled and dropped his things to the floor by his bed.

"Well, we're together now. She admitted that she was being stubborn and we both admitted to having feelings for each other," Troy said.

"Nice," Chad smiled, "Greer and I are going out tomorrow night. Our first official date."

"You want Piper to come over here so you two can have some privacy tomorrow night?" Troy teased, wiggling his eyebrows at Chad.

"It's our first date!" Chad exclaimed.

"And you've been wanting her for a _long_ time," Troy said with a smile, "Whether you'll admit to that or not."

"It's not going to happen...tomorrow," Chad finished.

"You two will be doing it by your birthday," Troy laughed, feeling something hit the back of his head hard and then hearing that object bounce to the floor. He looked down and saw that the object was a basketball and found that the perpetrator was Braeden.

"Dude. Do _not_ encourage him! I heard all about it from Piper and by the way," Braeden started before scooping up the ball and throwing it at Troy again, "You are not _ever_ giving Piper another ring again. Do you get what I'm saying to you?" Troy just rolled his eyes and caught the ball this time when it was thrown at him.

"Don't _touch_ Greer. Don't even _think_ about touching Greer," Braeden warned Chad before muttering to himself as he left the room, "Piper and Troy are bad enough. I think I'm getting an ulcer…"

"We're going to be the death of him," Chad laughed.

"I'd feel bad for him if I wasn't so crazy about Piper," Troy responded, wincing as the basketball collided with his back one more time before Braeden and Kevin's door slammed shut.


	29. Chapter 29

Well guys... the story is almost over :( Cate just finished the last chapter and I hope to have the epilogue finished in the next few days. Neither Cate or I ever imagined we would get so attached to this story, but now that it's ending... it's going to be hard to say goodbye to our boys and sassy girls.

I want to thank everyone who has read our story, we wanted to write something different from the rest and I think we pulled it off. Extra special thanks goes to XxXLIFEafterDEATHXxX for reviewing the last chapter.

**Chapter 29**

Standing under the hot spray of the shower, Chad ran his hand through his hair, forgetting for a few seconds that it was now short. He hadn't realized how much he would miss his longer locks, but there was nothing he could do about it now-his chopped off locks (including the gum Sabra had lost in them) were in the bottom of his parents' garbage can some 450 miles away.

It amused him greatly, though, that his best friend hadn't even noticed the major haircut Chad had gotten. Everyone else had noticed and told him they liked it. Not that Chad could blame Troy, his best friend was practically on cloud nine now that he and Piper were boyfriend and girlfriend. Just like himself and Greer.

Just thinking about Greer brought a smile to Chad's face and a stirring to another part of his body that he warded off by reminding himself he needed to talk to her dad. He knew he didn't _have_ to talk to her dad, but since his and Greer's first two attempts at a first date hadn't gone so good, he figured if he talked to her dad maybe the universe would let their first date happen.

Climbing out of the shower, Chad toweled off then got dressed before heading back to his and Troy's room where he found Troy and Piper behaving themselves, or at least pretending to.

"Whoa, what the hell did you do to your hair?" Piper asked.

Troy looked over at his best friend and blinked. "When did you cut your hair?" He asked.

"About five minutes after Sabra dropped her gum in it this morning," Chad stated as he ran his hand through his nearly dry hair-a plus side of the shorter look. "I'm still trying to get used to it, but Greer said she liked it."

"No wonder, she's always had a thing for the brillo pad look," Piper muttered. "She was in _love_ with Cory Matthews for a couple years."

"Who?" Troy asked, glancing at Chad to see if he knew.

"Oh my god, I'm dating a _baby_," Piper shook her head. "Cory Matthews. Boy Meets World. Was part of the TGIF lineup for years then on the Disney Channel." She looked between the two boys to see if either of them showed a hint of recognition. "I can't believe you two have never seen that show. We're going to watch it now."

"You guys have fun with that," Chad stated as he pulled on his Nikes.

"Where are you going?" Troy asked.

"Gotta run an errand," Chad replied. "I'll be back later."

Not giving Troy a chance to ask any more questions, Chad left the room and was almost to the hall door when he heard Braeden call his name.

"Where are you going?" Braeden asked.

"Errands," Chad told him. "Gotta get some pencils for school and other stuff…"

Braeden eyed him carefully before nodding, "Alright, grab me a binder, ok?"

"Sure," Chad nodded. "Anything else?"

"Maybe something to attach to a firework," Braeden grinned. "Kevin and Amy when to Las Vegas for New Years Eve and he got a bunch of fireworks and since we were all apart for New Years Eve, we're going to have a late New Years Eve party for our floor."

"Sounds cool, I'll see if -"

"Our floor, Chad," Braeden cut him off. "No girls allowed, Amy isn't even coming."

"I was going to say Troy, but whatever," Chad shook his head. "I'll see you later."

Finally escaping the building, Chad got into his car and drove to the closest Wallgreens to grab some pencils and the cheapest, ugliest binder he could find for Braeden. Then he headed over to the Carvers' house. He parked his car out front, then hurried up the sidewalk to the front door.

After knocking, he shoved his hands in his pockets, Chad waited for somebody to answer the door.

"Chad," Mrs. Carver smiled when she answered the door.

"Hi," Chad replied. "Is Coach Carver home?"

"He sure is, come on in, I'll go get him," she replied. After Chad came in, she shut the door behind him. "Have a seat and I'll go get him."

Chad nodded and took a seat in the living room that looked like it had walked out of an Ikea show room. His mom would kill for a living room like this, but each time Paul suggested they buy new furniture, she just shook her head and said not until Sabra was older. Now Chad was sure it would be even longer until the new baby (and however many came after him or her) would be old enough to treat the furniture correctly.

Hearing footsteps on the wood floor, Chad looked up and saw Mrs. Carver standing in the doorway.

"Come with me," she said. "Jeremy will see you in his office."

Chad nodded and followed Greer's step-mom down the hall then went into the room she pointed at on her way to the kitchen.

"I had a feeling you'd be stopping by," Coach Carver said as he took off his reading glasses and set them aside.

"Yo- you did?" Chad stuttered.

"Your mom called the other day," Coach Carver replied as he stood up and motioned to Chad to sit down. "Wanted to let me know that my daughter was spending the night at your parents' house."

"Oh," Chad replied.

"So tell me, Chad, what can I do for you tonight?" Coach Carver asked as he grabbed the window polish and started to polish the glass case that held his father's World War II gun and medals.

"Well, um. Sir," Chad gulped. "I know you have a rule about basketball players not dating your daughter and since I'm a baseball player, I was hoping you would let me date Greer."

"What if I said no?" Coach Carver asked.

"Well then, um, that would be your decision," Chad replied.

"So, are you telling me that if I tell you that you can't date Greer, you'll accept that answer?" Coach Carver asked.

"Yes," Chad nodded. "I wouldn't like it, but I would accept it."

"Interesting," Coach Carver said, rubbing his chin. "What does Greer have to say about this?"

"Well, to be honest, sir, we have a date planned for tomorrow night," Chad stated. "And she doesn't know that I'm here right now, but I -"

"You know what, the fact that you're here asking me for permission shows a lot of character," Coach Carver said. "That took a lot of courage, so you have my permission to date Greer, just don't let me regret it."

"I won't, sir," Chad said, standing up. "I promise." He shook Coach Carver's hand. "Thank you, sir, you won't regret this."

After leaving Greer's parents' house, Chad headed back to the dorms with a smile on his face. He delivered the binder to Braeden and went to his room, ignoring Braeden's complaints about the binder.

Chad pulled his laptop out of his bag and while it was setting up, he pulled Troy's Christmas present from Braeden out of his bag and threw it on his friend's bed.

Once his laptop was booted up, Chad sat down in front of it and opened up his internet browser. He navigated to Facebook and changed his relationship status so it showed that he was in a relationship with Greer Carver. He hit enter then went to see who had requested him as a friend since he had four new requests.

"Oh god," he groaned when he saw that the four requests were from his mom, Paul, Troy's mom and Troy's dad. "Old people don't belong on Facebook."

Sighing, he approved all four requests and was getting ready to close the browser when a chat message popped up.

Gabriella: So you and Greer are official now?

Chad: Yup

Gabriella: Since when?

Chad: A couple days ago. Our first date is tomorrow night.

Gabriella: Well, congrats. She's a really nice girl, Chad.

Chad: Thanks

Gabriella: Tell her I said hi

Chad: I will

Gabriella: Thanks. Talk to you later, I gotta get ready for my own date

Closing the browser, Chad pushed his chair back and looked at the clock; it was only 4:45. Sighing, he stood up and grabbed his wallet, planning to get food. He opened his door and found Chris, Owen and a new guy standing in the hall.

"Chad, come meet Chris's new roommate," Owen called him over. "Chad this is Rocky, Rocky this is Chris."

"Nice to meet you," Chad nodded in Rocky's direction.

"We were headed to the caf for dinner, you wanna join us?" Chris asked Chad.

"Sure, I was headed there anyway," Chad replied. "You coming to the party tonight, Owen?"

"I have no knowledge of a party," Owen told him. "As far as I know, there is no party tonight, and you will all be out doing something else while I am having dinner with my future-in-laws."

Four hours later, Chad pulled on his warmest clothes and was putting on his coat when the door swung open and Troy came in followed by Braeden.

"So did you find anything to explode?" Braeden asked him. "Please tell me you found a stuffed animal or something."

"I forgot," Chad replied then paused. "Wait, I might have something." He got down on his knees and pulled a long, flat box out from under the bunk bed. He pushed aside the extra bed sheets and pulled out the already mutilated stuffed bunny Taylor had given him. "I was a little mad."

"Wait, are you saying we can blow it up?" Braeden asked, his eyes staring at the stuffed bunny like a picture of a naked girl in Playboy.

"I'm with Greer now," Chad shrugged. "I've already taken scissors to it, so why the hell not."

"Fuck yes!" Braeden exclaimed, grabbing the bunny from Chad. "We leave in five minutes."

"You sure?" Troy asked as he studied his friend's face.

"Absolutely," Chad nodded. "I've never felt more sure about anything in my life."

Troy nodded and looked over at his bed, noticing the bright yellow shirt lying there. "How did that get here?" He asked.

"I grabbed it when I got the stuff you left behind," Chad shrugged. "I figured just in case you and Piper got back together you could wear it to bug Braeden."

"Good idea," Troy said as he pulled the t-shirt over the black sweatshirt he was wearing.

"LET'S GO," Braeden yelled from the hall.

Troy and Chad left their room and headed out of the dorms with the rest of the guys from their floor then made their way to the basketball court nearby. Once there, Kevin and Braeden pulled out the fireworks Kevin had smuggled back into Arizona and they started lighting them off.

"Alright Chad, this one is for you," Braeden called. "Operation Explode Bunny is-"

"Wait," Troy called to Braeden then turned to Chad. "You don't have to do this, Chad. You-"

"I _want_ to do it," Chad cut him off. "In fact, I'm going to do it." He walked over to where Braeden stood and held out his hand. "Gimme the lighter." He bent down and lit the firework with the stuffed rabbit taped to it then ran away as the firework launched into the air and exploded, showering them with tiny pieces of cotton stuffing.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Braeden yelled. "Which one should we do now, Kevin?"

"Actually, that was the last one," Kevin replied.

"Damn," Braeden sighed. "Well Happy New Year!"

The next afternoon, Greer stood in her bedroom looking through her closet trying to figure out what to wear. She had been trying to decide what to wear for hours and nothing was jumping out at her.

"Just pick something already," Piper groaned from her reclined position on Greer's bed, a glass of red wine in her hand.

"I don't know what to wear," Greer sighed. "He won't give me any clues as to what we're doing."

"Let me try something," Piper replied as she pulled out her cell phone. She shot Troy a text message and waited for him to reply; when he did, she told Greer, "He couldn't give specifics, but he said dress warm."

"What was does that mean?" Greer cried as the doorbell rang.

"Oh thank god!" Piper exclaimed, she jumped off the bed and ran from the room. She threw open the door and excitedly greeted Iden and Hetta.

"Wow, you're drunk," Hetta stated.

"No, just sick of Greer whining about not knowing what to wear on her date," Piper rolled her eyes. "Maybe she'll listen to one of you."

The three girls made their way to Greer's bedroom, only to find Greer pulling things out of her closet and throwing them over her head.

"Greer!" Hetta shouted. "Piper get her some wine."

"Already on it," Piper called halfway out the door.

"You need to calm down," Hetta said as she and Iden pulled Greer over to her bed and made her sit down.

"Yeah, especially since we have something wicked cool to tell you," Iden grinned.

"What is it?" Greer asked as Piper returned with a glass of wine for her.

"You tell her while I pick out an outfit," Hetta told Iden, before turning to the mess that was Greer's usually neat closet.

"Alright, so dad had a visitor last night," Iden stated.

"Don't beat around the bush, Iden, I have a date with Chad in an hour," Greer sighed.

"Chad was dad's visitor," Iden stated, causing Greer to spit her wine back in the cup and look at her.

"What?" Greer asked. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"We didn't think anything of it," Iden shrugged. "Athletes are always at our house talking to dad, especially since dad is a sports psychology guy."

"So why are you telling me now?" Greer asked.

"Because I heard dad telling mom what he and Chad talked about," Iden grinned. "They thought I was still up in bed, but I caught the tail end of their conversation-"

"Just tell me already!" Greer exclaimed.

"I'm getting there, shesh," Iden shook her head. "Chad asked dad for permission to date you."

"What?" Piper and Greer asked simultaneously.

"Are you serious?" Greer said. "What did dad say?"

"Well, Chad didn't cancel your date did he?" Iden asked.

"Oh my god," Greer said, shaking her head. "I can't believe this."

"I know, what a goody-goody," Piper rolled her eyes as she swirled her wine.

"Shut up, Piper," Greer snapped. "It's romantic." She jumped up. "Now I really have to dress to impress."

"Girl, you could wear a paperbag and that boy would still want to -" Piper stopped and looked at Iden before finishing "- be your friend."

"She won't be wearing a paperbag," Hetta stated. "Greer, go take a shower and when you're done we'll finish your look."

"But I don't know what I'm going to wear," Greer cried.

"It's handled," Hetta stated. "Shower. Now." She pushed her sister in the bathroom. "Oh and don't forget to shave."

Fifteen minutes later, Greer came out of the bathroom only to have clothes shoved into her arm and be sent back into the bathroom. She dressed and came back out in a pair of tight black jeans and a eggplant cowlneck sweater.

"You look great," Hetta stated. "That purple looks amazing."

"But I don't feel dressy enough for a date," Greer sighed.

"We're not done yet," Hetta replied. "Sit down and relax."

A few miles away, Chad was pacing the floor of his and Troy's dorm room. He had been ready for hours and was counting down the final minutes before he was leaving to pick Greer up for their date.

"You ready for this?" Troy asked him.

"Yes and no," Chad replied. "It's Greer, but it's _Greer_." He ran his hand through his short locks. "What if she doesn't like the date? What if she thinks it was the stupidest idea on the face of the earth?"

"Then you can do what she wants to do next time," Troy shrugged. "Now snap out of it man, you'll be fine." He clapped Chad on the back. "I, on the other hand, have many reasons to worry. The major reason being that Piper has decided we're going to spend tonight watching Boy Meets World dvds."

"You're right, I can do this," Chad stated. "It's Greer, I've gone out with her before and she'll like this date."

"That's the spirit," Troy nodded. "Go get her, Wildcat."

"Yeah, I'm going," Chad stated as he grabbed his brown leather jacket and threw it on, over his navy blue sweater. "Don't wait up."

The world around him seemed to move in slow motion as Chad made his way to his car and then made his way over to Greer's apartment. He parked in the visitor's spot then took a deep breath before climbing out of the car. He climbed the steps to the apartment and knocked on the door.

Greer opened it a few seconds later, dressed in a pair of jeans with a purple sweater peaking out from under black pea coat and a pair of black boots.

"Wow, you look great," he said.

"So do you," she smiled.

"Are you ready to go?" She nodded and he took her hand. He led her to the car, opened the door for her then closed it once she was inside.

"Do me a favor and close your eyes," he said. She looked at him confused. "I want it to be a surprise." She nodded and closed her eyes.

He drove to the location of their date then parked.

"Alright, keep your eyes closed," he instructed. "I'm going to help you out of the car then walk you over to where we're eating, ok?"

"Ok," she replied, feeling excited and anxious as to what was going on.

He got out of the car and went around to her side. He opened the door then took her hand and pulled her up. Then he led her down the path and waved off Kevin and Amy before coming to a stop.

"Open your eyes," he instructed.

Greer opened her eyes and found herself standing in the middle of the basketball court that she and Chad had spent many times together at. To their left was a blanket and a picnic basket surrounded by a circle of flickering candles.

"Do you like it?" Chad asked her.

"It's perfect, Chad," Greer grinned. She leaned over and gave his lips a quick peck.

"I'm glad," he said. "I wanted this to be the perfect first date and what better place to have it then in _our _spot."

"Our spot," she smiled. "I've never had a spot with a guy."

"I dunno about that, I mean Braeden did kiss you under the mistletoe," he teased.

"Shut up," she blushed, pushing him slightly. "So what's for dinner?"

"Sandwiches," Chad replied. "Then for dessert we have cheesecake."

"Mmm, I say we skip dinner and have dessert," Greer stated.

"Fine with me," he replied.

They shared the individual sized cheesecake and Chad ate his sandwich. Then as it grew later, they laid down on the blanket and he pulled it over their bodies to keep them warm as they looked up at the night sky.

"I really do love your hair cut," Greer said, turning her eyes to his. "I'm sure it's not a bitch to dry anymore."

"It really isn't," he smiled. "And while we're on the topic of hair, I really like it when you wear yours down."

"Noted," she said, snuggling closer to his body.

They laid there for a few minutes before Chad leaned over and kissed her, innocently at first then more heatedly. They broke apart, needing air and silently went back to watching the stars.

"You know, Troy thinks we'll be having sex by my birthday," he said. "Even though I told him we're taking things slowly."

"We'll have to wait and see if you've been a good boy," Greer grinned before placing a kiss on his lips. "And asking my dad if you can date me put you way up there."

"How'd you find out?"

"Hetta and Iden," Greer smiled. "Chad, that was the sweetest thing anybody has ever done for me." She laughed. "Why did you do it?"

"Your dad and Coach Scott have the rule about not dating you girls for a reason," Chad stated. "And I decided it was the right thing to do, so I asked your father."

"What if he had said no?" Greer asked.

"Then you would have had to convince them I'm super cool and you need to date me," Chad grinned.

"Troy's going to hate you for this when he finds out," Greer stated.

"I know, but it'll be payback for all the times I've had to push his crappy truck around Albuquerque because he was saving for a stupid part," Chad replied before turning serious. "Besides, I wasn't thinking about anybody other than me and you when I went to your dad."

Greer smiled and moved her eyes to the sky in time to see a shooting star. "Chad! Make a wish," she said before closing her eyes and wishing on her shooting star.


	30. Chapter 30

Ally here -- I should probably wait until tomorrow to post this, but I'm too excited! Cate and I finished the story last week and we both cried a little, but we both felt it was time to say goodbye to our lovely characters. I plan on posting the Epilogue next week (though depending on how many reviews we get, I could be swayed to post it say.. Friday?) and I have an amusing deleted scene that we wrote when we were in the planning stages of the story but it never fit in.

So thanks to everyone who has been reading! We really appreciate it :-D

**Chapter 30**

Troy approached the Scott residence in his truck feeling hungry and ready to relax. The entire week had been filled with long practices and his classes this semester were definitely more work-intensive than last semesters' had been. When Braeden had come to their room that morning asking if Troy wanted to come over for a cook out on his parents' deck, Troy had immediately taken him up on the offer. The thought of just relaxing with good friends with some good food in had was just perfect. And, the fact that Piper might show up was of course an added bonus, even though he wasn't sure whether or not their dad knew about his and Piper's newly defined relationship.

He pulled his car in front of the house, noticing curiously that the only cars in the driveway were Braeden's and Piper's. When Braeden had invited him, he'd said that Chad had already accepted the invite and that Kevin and Amy would be there as well. Troy shrugged it off, assuming that they had all ridden over together, before ringing the doorbell. Piper answered and looked at him confusedly.

"What are you doing here, Troy?" she asked, not opening the door further to let him in.

"Braeden invited me over… for the cookout," he explained, realizing immediately that there was no such cookout, "Or to punish me for something." Piper sighed and stepped back, allowing him inside.

"Dating me, perhaps?" she suggested, "This is family dinner time. Well, family plus Savy. And _you_ apparently."

"I'm so glad to see you, too!" Troy gushed fakely as she led the way into the dining room.

"Well see… I haven't exactly broken the news to my parents that I'm cradle robbing just yet. Nor do I plan to do so any time soon, so…" she told him in a hushed voice. Troy stopped and grabbed onto her arm.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked and when she just looked at him, he continued, "I can not believe you. We're officially together and you're so ashamed of it that you won't even tell your parents? Or is it still just about sex to you?"

"Troy, it's nothing like that," she said.

"Then what is it?" he demanded, trying his hardest to keep his voice down.

"My parents _hated_ that I was with Preston. They thought that we were wasting our time—that at the stages of life we were at, that it would never work. And they were right. You and I know that our situation is different, but they're not going to see it that way. Not right away at least. I want them to like you, Troy. I don't want to be in another relationship that my parents don't approve of. It makes things really, really hard," she said hurriedly and Troy wanted to crawl into a hole and die. But before he could apologize for jumping to conclusions, Mrs. Scott appeared around the corner.

"Oh! Troy, so nice to see you!" she said, obviously as confused by Troy's presence as he was himself.

"Troy!" Braeden said with a sugary-sweet enthusiasm as he appeared behind his mother, "Mom, I hope you don't mind that I invited Troy over for dinner."

"Of course not. There's plenty of lasagna," she said, giving Troy a smile before leaving the three of them standing there in the hallway.

"You're such a douche," Piper told Braeden, flicking him hard in the forehead as she brushed past him.

"What am I doing here?" Troy asked. Braden just laughed wickedly and disappeared, forcing Troy to awkwardly follow after them. When he entered the dining room, he found Mrs. Scott putting a plate on the empty placement at the chair beside Piper. Savy gave him an apologetic look from across the table as Troy sat down.

"Mr. Bolton. We sure have been seeing a _lot_ of you lately," Coach Scott said, forcing Troy to gulp before taking a suddenly needed sip of the water that had just appeared in front of him.

"I thought my good bud Troy could use a nice home cooked meal," Braeden said, "And that's the only reason why he's here." Troy noticed that Coach Scott just rolled his eyes lightly, obviously knowing that Braeden was up to something, but knowing better than to ask.

"So, how are your new classes, Piper?" Mrs. Scott asked.

"Okay, I guess. I intentionally left myself easy classes for my last semester, so it really shouldn't be too bad. Boring, but not hard," Piper shrugged before covering her slice of lasagna with what Troy assumed to be half the container of parmesan cheese.

"And you, Braeden?" she asked her other child.

"They're awful, but I think I finally picked a major!" Braeden said, "I'm going to be a gym teacher!" The almost deafening silence that followed his statement was obviously the reaction he was hoping for and he burst into laughter a few moments later. "Oh man. The looks on your faces… but seriously, I'm going to major in music business."

"That's great, Braeden! Maybe you can minor in Jackassery!" Piper said.

"Piper…" Mrs. Scott sighed. Troy just sat there and ate his lasagna in silence, trying his hardest not to laugh. He and Savy were definitely the outsiders in the conversation, but he was really enjoying the chance to watch the Scott family in action. Piper and Braeden were certainly two of the most interesting people he'd encountered, well, _ever_, and it was great seeing them interact with their parents.

"So, did you guys hear about Chad and Greer?" Braeden asked once the conversation had reached a lull.

"What about them?" Piper asked.

"That they're dating and Chaddycakes asked Jeremy's permission to date Greer?"

"He _what_?" Troy interjected.

"You didn't know that?" Piper asked.

"No," Troy said, "_No one_ told me."

"Oh yeah. He went over to their house and asked for his permission to date Greer. Isn't that romantic?"

"If you're in 1820, maybe," Piper rolled her eyes before downing half her glass of wine in one gulp.

"You didn't ask my dad's permission to date me," Savy teased him.

"Well, that's because there's no way your dad would have a problem with me. It's not like I'm weird or an _athlete_ or _younger_ than you or something," Braeden said.

"Braeden, just stop talking. Have some wine and then drive… into a brick wall," Piper suggested, tipping the wine bottle his way.

"Do I even want to know?" Coach Scott asked exasperatedly. Braeden responded with "Yes!" and the same time Piper growled "No!" and Coach just snatched the bottle of wine from Piper's hand, refilling his glass, grumbling under his breath about them giving him gray hair.

"Anyone want pie?" Mrs. Scott asked, getting up from the table to retrieve an apple pie from the sideboard.

"I do, but Troy'd better pass or he'll lose that toned physique that's plastered all over Piper's bedroom."

"His pictures are _not_ up in my bedroom, _loser_!" Piper exclaimed.

"I don't care what's up in anyone's bedroom. I want you all to eat your pie and then I want you to go away," Coach Scott told them all with a smile, "And I mean that in the nicest way possible, of course." And so they did and were all on their way out the door a half hour later.

"I'm going to rip off your testicles and shove them up your ass!" Piper yelled at Braeden once they were safely outside. He just made a talking motion at her with his hand before getting in his car.

"I didn't know he did this, I'm sorry, Troy!" Savy said before getting in the passenger seat. Piper sighed and kicked Braeden's bumper as he pulled out of the driveway as she made her way over to Troy.

"Are you coming over now?" she asked.

"Are you going to tell your parents about us?" he countered.

"Not right now."

"Then _no_," he told her before heading towards his car. He heard her footsteps approaching him quickly and she was tugging on the back of his shirt, holding him still withing seconds.

"I made a trip to Victoria's Secret today and was kind of hoping to get your opinion on my new purchases," she whispered in his ear, pressing her breasts intentionally into his back. He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply as he fought between whether or not to give in to her so easily. But when she moved closer, close enough for her entire body to be pressed against him, he felt his resolve melt away.

"I'll follow you there," he said and with that, she was gone.

He hurried to his driver's seat and followed Piper's car intently the entire way to her apartment, wondering what wonders could be awaiting him in a pink bag in her bedroom. She waited for him on the front porch, looking annoyed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"_Chad_ is here," she said as if the answer should have been obvious and he followed her inside. They found Chad and Greer cuddling on the couch watching TV.

"How as dinner?" Greer called out, turning in Chad's arms to look in their direction, "Oh, hi Troy!"

"Fucking _peachy_," Piper said before grabbing the front of Troy's shirt and pulling him up the stairs behind her.

"What was that all about?" Troy asked once they were inside her bedroom.

"He's been here every day in the last week, and they're always watching TV!"

"So what?" Troy laughed, toeing off his shoes before sitting on her bed.

"I have television viewing needs, Troy! Needs that are not being satisfied because of their stupid no-touchy relationship! What couple doesn't have sex? I mean, seriously!" she ranted as she ripped off her clothes angrily.

"One that's just getting started? I don't know," Troy said amusedly, watching as she yanked on the new bra and underwear she'd snagged from the pink bag on her desk, "They're going to have sex eventually, they're just waiting for the right time, I think."

"Well, I think the right time is when Lost is on, but apparently, they don't agree with me," she sighed, sitting down next to him on the bed.

"Are you done ranting now?" he asked, "Because you look pretty sexy, but your bitching is really ruining it for me." She thought for a minute before giving him a little smile.

"Sorry," she apologized, "I've just been a little frustrated all week."

"I can tell," he said, pushing her hair back over her shoulder so he could get a better look at the blue lacy bra, "Want me to calm you down?"

"Yes please," she breathed before kissing him hungrily.

For the entire next week, Troy found himself constantly finding new and creative ways to keep Piper calm, not that he minded so much. They spent most of their time at his and Chad's room, something that annoyed Piper and had sent Braeden shuddering and grumbling over to Savy's most nights. But, Piper had finally convinced Greer to vacate their apartment that next Saturday night so they could have full run of the place. They'd ordered pizza and watched all of the shows Piper had been forced to DVR since Greer and Chad had started dating. After a great night's sleep, Troy had been sent by Piper down to the kitchen to reheat their leftover pizza so they could eat it in bed.

"Mmm… pizza in bed," Piper sighed contentedly as she took another bite of the greasy slice of sausage pizza in her hand.

"I should have known your favorite would be sausage," Troy teased, his own slice halfway to his mouth when Piper slapped his arm.

"You're disgusting."

"Says the most perverted person on campus," he countered. She pretended to think about it for a moment before shrugging and taking the last bite before tossing the crust into the garbage can beside her bed.

"Whatever," she said once she had swallowed, "You like me perverted."

"Wouldn't want you any other way," he smiled, tossing his slice into the box so he could tackle her to the mattress.

"Troy! I'm all greasy!" she complained, pushing lightly on his chest.

"Perfect," he breathed before kissing her deeply. His hands slid under her tank top just as someone started knocking repeatedly on the door.

"Oh Troy! Oh Piper!" the high-pitched voice shouted through the door before laughing.

"Fuck off, Chad!" Piper yelled back before whipping a pillow at the door. She looked at Troy. "He is always here! And now I _ask_ them to clear out for one day and they can't even do _that_??"

"Well, they probably just stopped by now and they're happy. Kind of like _I_ was until you starting yelling," Troy sighed, moving to collapse onto the bed next to Piper. She immediately scrambled up, yanked on her robe before storming out of the room.

"Chad!" she shrieked and Troy sighed and pulled on his jeans before following her down the stairs.

"Oh calm down, Piper, I was just messing around," Troy heard Chad say in the kitchen.

"Just messing around? I asked for Troy and I to have one uninterrupted night in our apartment for the first time in a week! We were in _bed_! And just because _you're_ not getting laid doesn't mean that you can take it out on everyone who _is_!" Piper said.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Greer asked, entering the kitchen at the same time as Troy.

"Your boyfriend deliberately came upstairs to annoy us while we were in bed. It's 9 o'clock in the morning and he was banging on the door when you guys aren't even supposed to be here!" Greer rolled her eyes.

"Piper, I live here, too. I just stopped by to grab a few things. I had no idea he even came in, let alone went upstairs," she explained. Piper's nostrils flared as she stood her ground next to Troy. "_And_, why is everyone on our case so much about not sleeping together yet? How does that affect you in the slightest?"

"It affects me because you're repressing all of your pent up sexual energy by watching TV during the time when the few shows I follow are on. If you guys want to be here, then fine. I know that Troy and I are here a lot, too, but we make sure not to monopolize the only TV with cable in the entire apartment!"

"We'll stop doing that, okay?" Greer said, obviously used to dealing with Piper when she got like this, Troy noticed. He was sure that Greer had to be plenty irritated by Piper's outburst, but she clearly knew that it wasn't the right time to fight back, Piper, like her brother, did have a temper and letting her cool off before going on the defensive always seemed to be a good idea. Piper's shoulders slumped and her face softened.

"I don't want to fight with you. This is just my place, too, and I'm sick of spending all of my time in the dorms just to get some relaxation time in," Piper explained. Greer nodded.

"I think we should definitely be able to work out a better schedule."

"Schedule?" Troy asked. Piper just held up a hand to silence him.

"I don't care about a strict schedule as much as I care about having privacy which means one thing," Piper started before grabbing an apple from the basket on the counter and chucking it directly at Chad, "No one is allowed upstairs but me and Troy!" Greer tried not to laugh as Chad batted away the apple before it struck his chest.

"Oh my god, I forgot you don't have a sense of humor," Chad said before turning to Greer, "Are you ready to go?" She nodded.

"We'll be gone all afternoon," she told Piper before they left. Piper sighed and collapsed dramatically against the counter.

"What the hell was all that?" Troy asked.

"I have tried very hard to be good about not taking over the apartment since you and I started doing, whatever the hell that was," Piper told him, "Greer's usually really considerate and that's why I've been so frustrated."

"Well, I'm glad you two talked because honestly, you've been a crazy person for the last two weeks," Troy smiled, pulling her close and whispering in her ear, "I have something I want to talk to you about?" She smiled at him and slid a hand over the front of his jeans.

"Oh yeah?" she asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about a certain holiday that's coming up soon."

"Valentine's Day? You don't need to worry your pretty little head about that. I've got things planned already."

"You do?" he asked curiously.

"Yup. But don't bother trying to figure it out. It's all up here and it's not coming out until the day," she told him, tapping a finger against her temple before pulling away. But, her words didn't quite get through to Troy as he spent the next several weeks attempting to figure out what Piper could possibly have planned for Valentine's Day. So when February 13th finally rolled around, Troy was beyond the point of patience for Piper's continued silence. Their relationship was still going great, but as far as he was aware, she still hadn't told her parents about the two of them which still made him uneasy. As much as he liked her and as much as he wanted to trust that she liked him as well, it was hard for him to stay positive when he knew she was keeping her parents in the dark. He knew her reasons for doing so, but couldn't help but feel that she was ashamed of him somehow.

"Ready to go?" she asked, popping her head in his and Chad's dorm room door just before 6pm. He gestured to his empty duffle bag and casual dress with a shake of his head.

"How am I supposed to know how to dress and what to bring with me if you won't tell me what we're doing?" She gave him a little smile and moved into the room, going immediately to his closet. Once she had pushed a nice pair of dark gray dress pants and deep red button up into his hands, she set about setting some other items carefully into his bag along with his toiletries. As soon as their evening had officially begun, Troy felt terrible for doubting Piper and her feelings for him. The night started with dinner at the Dish Bistro. He let Piper do the ordering since he had no idea what most of the items on the menu even _were_, let alone what they would taste like. What she picked was great, though, from the Duck Confit for an appetizer to the Pork Tenderloin she ordered him for his meal. It was nice and he could tell that she'd obviously done some research into the foods on the menu, figuring out in advance which ones he would like and which ones he wouldn't. She did let him pay for dinner after much insistence on his part once she admitted that she had already taken care of the rest of the night.

After Piper blindfolded him and got him situated in the passenger's seat of her car, Troy just sat back and tried to figure out where she was taking him, attempting to assess the turns she was taking and how long she was driving on each road. But, within a minute he was confused and by the time she stopped the car, they could have been in another county for all he knew.

"All right, Mr. Bolton. You can take off your blindfold now," she told him and he practically yanked the bandana from his eyes to see that they were parked in front of a huge hotel.

"Where are we?" he asked, mouth gaping at their very expensive looking digs for the night.

"Oh, just The Westin La Paloma Resort," she told him nonchalantly, getting out of the car to retrieve her bag from the trunk. Troy shook himself out of his trance and scrambled to join her at the rear of the vehicle, pulling her towards him and kissing her full on the mouth. "What was that for?"

"Thank you," he whispered before giving her another quick kiss, "I've never stayed anywhere like this before."

"Well, we're booked for the next two nights, so you'd better like it," she teased.

"Two nights?" he asked as they walked towards the entrance, "Ooo! Tennis courts!"

"As if you're seeing anything other than our room," she scoffed before giving him a wink. Troy took a deep breath before smiling to himself as he followed her through the doors.

Chad and Greer were sitting on the couch in her apartment watching a movie on TV. Chad knew that he should know what the movie was since they'd been watching it for over forty-five minutes, but he couldn't describe the plot or what the main characters looked like because all he had been able to focus on was that Greer's hair smelled particularly good that night, that the skin of her arm felt impossibly soft under his fingertips as he traced patterns on her forearm, and that it was Valentine's Day. It was the day that was supposed to be the most romantic day of the year for couples and they had already eaten a delicious steak dinner, had a few glasses of champagne, and were now sitting in the candlelit living room watching some romantic film Greer had put in. They had been together officially for over a month and he had honestly never been so happy in a relationship. With Greer, everything was easy. She didn't play head games with him and every second they spent together felt effortless. He didn't feel like he had to be another person when they were together, nor did he feel that he needed to work hard to impress her. But now, for some reason, he was feeling as nervous as he had before their first date. He didn't know if it was the supposed importance of the day or something else, but he was definitely nervous for some reason.

"Want some more champagne?" Greer asked, leaning further into his side before giving him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled at her and shook her head. "So, what do you want to do the rest of the night?"

"I don't know," he said thoughtfully, "I'm having a good time already."

"Me too," she grinned, "And can I just say that I'm so happy that we decided to take things slow. I'm having such a good time with you, Chad."

"Me too," he told her, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Taking the pressure off of the whole sex thing has been great," Greer said, repeating her sentiment, but Chad noticed that her voice sounded a little flat. But before he could question her tone, her lips were on his, kissing him hungrily. He felt his stomach tighten, knowing instantly that this kiss was different than all the others had been. Greer's lips were insistent against his, her leg sliding across his lap immediately to seat herself on his thighs. It was fast but it wasn't because it felt so right. Chad let himself relax into her touches and slid his hands under the back of her shirt. It wasn't as if they'd never done _anything_ during their time together. In fact, they'd pretty much done everything _except_ have sex, so exploring hands and close bodies were nothing new. What _was_ new was the feeling of the moment.

"So glad we waited," he gasped against her lips as she unzipped his jeans.

"Mmmhmm," she moaned as he gently grasped her breast through her bra, "So glad… so, want to go to my room?"

"Absolutely," he grinned, trotting after her, his pants now gathered around his ankles.

Two days later, they were all seated in Piper and Greer's living room watching TV while Piper busied herself on her laptop. Troy had tried several times to find out what she was doing on there, but every time he attempted to peek, she would slam the screen shut and glare at him. So, he had eventually given up and was now watching Lost with everyone else.

"I thought you liked this show," he said to her.

"It's taping. I'm busy," she replied, her gaze not leaving the screen. Troy sighed and leaned back into the comfortable couch cushion, looking over in Chad and Greer's direction to see them cuddled up in the recliner. Troy was many things, but he was not an idiot. He was well aware of the fact that something had happened between them on Valentine's Day, though Chad had remained mum about it so far. He hadn't pestered Chad about it too much, though. Chad had usually talked about his sex life with Taylor, at least to some extent, and his reluctance to do the same with Greer showed how different this relationship was. And for that, Troy was eternally grateful.

"I have no idea what's going on," Chad said out of the blue, looking exasperatedly at the screen, "If you're taping this, can't we watch something else?" Piper didn't even look up at him.

"No," she replied blandly before making a final click and then she beamed, "All done!"

"Can I look now?" Troy asked. She nodded and angled the screen so he would be able to see it better. He read the words on the webpage out loud. "Your trip to Los Angeles has been booked for March 16th through March 20th."

"We're going to LA for spring break!" she gushed.

"We are?" he asked, "Piper, this is too much!" She rolled her eyes.

"You're paying for half, so don't get too weird," she laughed, "I've been tracking the prices for a long time and found an amazing deal. It'll be well worth it, I promise."

"After this weekend, I've learned to trust all of your plans. Even when they involve blindfolds," he said, realizing immediately how that must have sounded to Chad and Greer who he found giving him questioning looks, "In the _car_. She blindfolded me in the car… so I wouldn't know where she was… never mind."

"Good boy," Piper said, patting his head, "So, is LA okay?"

"LA is perfect," he smiled, kissing her forehead before closing her screen, "Now put away the computer and join the humans." She carefully placed her laptop on the table beside the couch and snuggled into his side. In doing so, however, she very deliberately elbowed Troy in the side, prompting him to look at her. She jerked her head in the other couple's direction and he found them making out.

"Ahem!" Piper teased, "You want to break it up over there, horndogs?"

"Oh whatever," Greer laughed lightly, pulling back nonetheless. They all sat there during the commercial break in a slightly awkward silence, one that didn't usually plague their get-togethers. Finally, Chad sighed loudly as Piper smiled over in their direction for about the twentieth time.

"She knows, doesn't she?" he asked Greer, intending his comment to go unheard by Troy and Piper, but failing in the close quarters.

"Of course she knows. She's my best friend. We tell each other everything," Greer shrugged, "It's not like I gave her details or anything."

"Yes she did," Piper teased, giving him a big cheesy grin. Chad shifted uncomfortably and flushed lightly.

"Well I didn't tell _Troy_," Chad defended.

"You didn't have to, I already knew," Troy told him.

"Why? Because Piper told you?"

"Well, yeah. But I knew before that," Troy shrugged.

"The lack of crumpled up tissues at the foot of your bed was kind of a tip off," Piper said before cracking up, unable to keep her cool through her joke. Chad just inhaled deeply and turned his attention back to the screen. "Oh settle down, Chad. Greer knows all about Troy and I, too."

"Is that right?" Troy asked Piper.

"Sure is. She knows how big you are and everything," she replied nonchalantly. They all just sat there in silence for a few moments, Troy and Chad unsure of the truth of the statement and Piper and Greer looking like they were going to burst out laughing at any second. Regaining her cool, Greer sent a flirty wink in Troy's direction. Troy just gaped at her for a moment before standing. "Problem, Troy?"

"I… have to…" Troy managed, his voice sounding strained and uncomfortable to the point of cracking before he fled the room for the safety of the kitchen, leaving the other three laughing hysterically in the living room.

Three weeks later, Troy stood with his toes grazing the free throw line, the ball turning lightly beneath his palms as he repeatedly spun and dribbled. Spun and dribbled. The crowd was cheering all around him, the nearby members of the opposing team jeering him, and his teammates were all uttering words of encouragement. It was all he could hear, the deafening roar, but little bits and pieces were getting through to his brain, not psyching him out, but definitely not helping.

He closed his eyes in those last seconds before he knew he _had_ to shoot. There was no more putting it off. Either he made this shot and they went into overtime, or he _didn't_ and they lost to their rivals Arizona State for the third year in a row. This was their chance for change and it was all resting on his freshman shoulders. He knew that his teammates were nervous. He knew they weren't sure if he could handle the pressure. But when he opened his eyes, he forced a thought to go through his head and he smiled as he shot, watching with amazement as the ball sunk cleanly through the hoop, the net hardly quivering as it passed. And then, the crowd got louder.

The Wildcats managed to pull off a victory with no more help from Troy. He gladly stayed the hell out of the way while the upperclassmen, energy and senses heightened by their shot at a second chance, playing five more incredible minutes of basketball. They won by five points with a final score of 70-65 and the one point Troy had contributed to the game was the proudest point he'd ever shot in all his years of playing basketball.

After the final buzzer had sounded, select members of the crowd started to make their way down onto the court to celebrate the important U of A victory. Troy was talking to some of his classmates when an impatient finger tapped him on the shoulder; he had barely turned a complete 180 to face the tapper when Piper flung herself into his arms, kissing him deeply. He was so elated, so exhilarated that he let himself get lost in the kiss that could have gone on for seconds or hours for all he knew. When he finally pulled back, Piper gave him a serious look.

"What were you thinking about before you made the shot?" she asked. He laughed and smoothed a hand over her hair, still completely oblivious to the madness around them.

"I imagined you threatening me bodily harm if I missed it. And you called me Pampers," he told her truthfully. She smiled back at him.

"I always knew you secretly liked that nickname," she teased.

"No, I don't."

"Yes you do, I saw you smile."

"That's not why I smiled," he started, continuing when she gave him a questioning look, "I smiled because thinking of you made me calm down. It was just one of those revelation moments, I guess."

"Okay Troy, don't get all sappy on me. We've got a win to celebrate," she smiled. Troy looked around and saw their families standing nearby. Namely, he saw the confused and slightly irritated look on Coach Scott's face.

"And some explaining to do," he told her, nodding in her dad's direction. She shrugged and took his hand in hers.

"He'll get over it," she said.

"I certainly hope so," he smiled before allowing her to lead him towards their families.

"Well, Troy Bolton," Coach Scott said, extending his hand towards Troy, "It appears as though we're going to be seeing _more_ of you." Troy smiled nervously at him and shook his hand, being sure to give him a good firm handshake.

"Not as much as Piper sees," Braeden chimed in from behind his parents, grabbing his dad's shoulders and giving them a squeeze before darting away. Troy reeled in the urge to go murder Braeden, but was rescued by Chad and Greer pulling them away after Troy said hello to his parents.

"Awesome game, man. Seriously," Chad said.

"Yeah yeah, Troy was great. Everyone's happy. Now let's get out of here before my dad kills Troy," Piper said, linking her arm with Troy's, "But not before boy wonder here goes to the showers."

"You are pretty rank," Greer told him. He gave Piper's hand a squeeze before walking away, turning to look back at them, all laughing and talking as they went out to the parking lot to wait for him.

"How psyched are you right now?" Steven asked, slinging his arm around Troy's shoulders as they walked towards the locker room. He looked back again and found Piper looking back at him too, giving him a wink before leaving.

"Pretty damned psyched," Troy answered, unable to stop himself from smiling.


	31. Epilogue

From Ally: I just want to thank everybody who has read our story and especially those that reviewed the chapters. I know Cate and I both loved hearing what you guys thought and it always brought smiles to our faces.

From Cate: Thanks for reading and giving our story a chance. We knew going in that writing a story with unusual pairings might scare some people off, but we knew that we had a good idea for a story and think (and hope) we wound up being right. We had an absolute blast writing these characters and hope that if you enjoyed it, you'll encourage others to check it out in the future!

Special thanks to all of our reviewers: XxXLIFEafterDEATHXxX, the road to damascus, lovefashionmuch, MUW D'Bellegirl, mariposa mi butterfly, LoveIsLost29, caliciara, laxgirl14, JacobBlackisLife., Yellow-queen18, Bubbles for Sale, niileyxlove, Gorgeous Nick Stokes; especially those that stuck with us when we didn't update for months on end.

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**Epilogue**

Seated amongst the thousands of other friends and family members of the graduating class, Troy and Chad searched the graduates marching in for their girlfriends. To standout amongst her fellow graduates, Piper had taken white paint to the top of her graduation cap and put 'my other hat is pointed' on it; but after her mom had nearly had a heart attack upon seeing it, Piper had taken her and Greer's cap and redecorated them so they had pictures of the two of them on them with the words 'Best Friends' on Greer's cap and 'Forever' on Pipers.

"I see them!" Troy shouted, flinging his arm in the direction he spotted the girls. "Take a picture, Chad! Take a picture!"

"I am! I am!" Chad retorted as he took a couple pictures of the girls. "They're not gonna come out very well since we're so far away."

"I don't care," Troy stated, yanking the camera away from Chad and taking more pictures.

"Oh god, I should have sat with my parents" Braeden groaned from next to them. "Please promise me you two won't cry or anything like my mom and Faye did when Piper and Greer graduated high school." He shook his head. "That was so embarrassing, they were running around trying to get pictures of the girls and practically got in a brawl with some other parents in the photo pen-"

"The photo pen!" Troy exclaimed, looking like an idea had just struck him. "I'll be back."

"Oh god," Braeden groaned, putting his head in his hands as Troy squeezed past the other people in their aisle and headed to the photo pen. "I can't believe this."

"Yeah, I know, he just ran off with my brand new camera," Chad grumbled. He ignored Braeden's grumblings as he pulled out his phone, ready to shoot Troy a text message, but forgot about it when he saw he had a message from Greer.

_Can't wait for tonight._

He smiled and replied:

_Me either. It'll be like my birthday all over again._

Even though he couldn't see her face, he pictured it turning bright red since it happened any time he made a reference to his birthday or the numerous sexual positions they had tried that night.

_We'll see._

Chad shook his head and replied:

_We can do that one you really enjoyed and that yoga class you've been taking will make it even more fun._

Greer's face flushed a hundred times more than it already was when she read his message.

"What's up with you, tomato face?" Piper asked.

"Nothing," Greer coughed, willing the flush to leave her face.

"Nothing my ass," Piper laughed. "Did it have anything to do with Chaddycakes and your new passion for yoga?"

"Shut up," Greer muttered as she covered her face with her hands.

Pleased with herself, Piper took out her own cell phone and shot Troy a message:

_Hey pampers._

He replied:

_How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?_

_You know you like it._

_Do not._

_WHATEVER_

_Better watch yourself or you'll be in trouble tonight._

_Are you going to spank me?_

_No, you'd like that too much._

_Meany._

_That's not what you said last night._

_Well, I'm not wearing anything under my gown…_

_Really???_

_No! You saw me getting ready, dumbass!_

Piper looked up when she felt Greer nudge her. Her friend motioned to the left and Piper looked and saw the rest of their row standing up. She stood up and shoved her phone down the front of her gown into her bra then followed Greer and the rest of their row to the line by the stage to get their diplomas.

"Greer Carver, Bachelors of Arts in Media Art," the announcer said as Greer walked across the stage, shaking hands with the various school officials and getting her empty diploma folder.

"Piper Scott, Bachelors of Science in Psychology," the announcer said as Piper followed Greer across the stage.

After posing for their individual photos, the girls headed back to their seats only to be paused by shouts from their moms and Troy to stop for pictures.

"That boy's gonna marry you some day," Greer whispered to Piper as they posed.

"Oh god, can we please let him become an upperclassman before we start having that discussion?" Piper groaned.

"Just saying," Greer smiled.

"Well you're one to talk," Piper muttered as Chad appeared from behind Troy. "He's probably already asked your dad to marry you."

"No he hasn't," Greer retorted as Chad winked at her. "At least I don't think he has."

"Yes you do," Piper said as they headed back to their seats. "His mom is due in a few months and you are so baby crazy that you too will be engaged by November and expecting a baby by the next November."

"Piper, he's only 19! I wouldn't marry him until he's at least 21," Greer stated.

"You don't have to be married to have a baby," Piper smirked.

"Shut up," Greer stated. "I have a lot on my plate right now with my internship this summer and then my new job that starts this fall. Not to mention, Chad is playing baseball all summer and has three years of school left"

"Hey you started this conversation," Piper held her hands up defensively. "And Troy and I have a lot on our plates this summer, too. Well sorta, I'm doing the wedding picture thing and he's working for the Parks and Recreation department with sports camps."

"Alright, so truce, no more talking about getting married," Greer said, holding out her hand.

"Agreed," Piper said, shaking her hand. "Though, Troy would look hella sexy in a tux with the shirt undone and his pants around his-"

Her thoughts were derailed when the rest of the graduates stood up and she had to follow suit. The ceremony ended with some of them throwing their caps up in the air while others, who wanted to keep their caps, waved their hands in the air and cheered.

Greer and Piper joined the procession out off the football field and greeted several of their friends before heading to the reception where they knew their families and boyfriends would be waiting for them.

"Oh my god," Piper groaned when she saw Troy and Chad standing on the edge of the fountain, obviously trying to be above the crowd to spot them. "What were we thinking dating freshman?"

"Their sophomores now," Greer smiled as she caught Chad's eye and waved at him. She lost sight of him for a few seconds as he and Troy weaved through the crowd, but smiled when she saw him headed straight at her.

"Congrats," he grinned as he wrapped his arms around her waist then gave her lips a peck.

"Thanks," she said, grinning back at him. "So where are the parentals?"

"Inside somewhere," Troy answered for Chad. "We didn't feel like going in there without you guys."

"There you guys are!" Braeden shouted as he spotted them. He hurried over to them and gave his sister a quick hug. "So what's the plan for tonight? Big party at Piper and Greer's place?"

"Actually, we have plans, separately," Greer told him. "The big party is at home tomorrow, remember?"

"Yeah, but I thought you guys were having a big party tonight," Braeden stated. "Isn't that why Chad and Troy moved into their apartment last weekend?"

"Mom, I found them," Hetta said into her cell phone as she walked up behind Braeden. "Yeah, I'll let them know and we'll meet you guys there."

"Meet who where?" Greer asked her sister.

"We're all going out to the Olive Garden for lunch," Hetta replied. "And yes, that includes Chad and Troy."

"Ok, sounds good," Piper said.

"Wait a second, you are too good to party with me tonight, but you'll have lunch with mom and dad?" Braeden asked.

"Free food," Piper retorted. "Besides, Troy needs all the carbs he can get because he's going to get a work out tonight."

"Oh puke," Braeden pretended to throw up as the others laughed. "You better wear a rubber, douchbag!" He pointed at Troy. "I'm not ready to be an uncle." He looked at Chad. "You, too."

"Dude, you're not her brother," Chad stated.

"I've known her my entire life, so close enough," Braeden replied.

"Alright, enough," Greer said, shaking her head. She looped her arm through Chad's. "Let's go, daddy-o." She glanced at her sister. "Are you riding with us?"

"Yeah, she will and I'll ride with Piper and Troy," Braeden decided for them all. "Nobody gets to sneak off on my watch."

"Guess we'll have to kill you then," Piper smirked as she took Troy's hand.

The six headed to the dorm parking lot where Troy and Chad had parked their cars then headed to the Olive Garden, arriving a few minutes after the girls' parents and grandparents had arrived. Troy found himself in a discussion with the Coaches after they overhead that he had decided to go into the major in Education with a specialization in sports and history, while Chad found himself in a discussion about sports medicine, his major, with Greer's step-grandpa after finding out that he was a doctor.

After filling themselves with all the pasta, breadsticks and salad they could eat, Troy and Piper and Chad and Greer said goodbye to everyone and left the restaurant. Chad and Greer left in his car to go to her apartment while Troy and Piper got into his car to go to his apartment.

"I'm still mad at you," Piper muttered as Troy drove to the small apartment he and Chad had moved into the weekend before after they had decided to stay in Tucson for the summer instead of moving back home. "I told you which straw to pick."

Since between the two couples they had two apartments it made no sense for anybody to rent a hotel room. So to determine where they would spend the night following graduation, they had drawn straws and Chad had picked the longest straw while Troy had picked the shortest.

"Piper, get over it," he shook his head. "Our apartment isn't that bad."

"Troy, you don't have any furniture!" She exclaimed. "You're sleeping on a fucking air mattress!"

"I've done more fucking than sleeping," he smirked as he pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. He parked in his parking spot then climbed out; he walked over to Piper's side of the car and opened her door. Then he led her up the stairs to his and Chad's small two bedroom apartment. "Home sweet home."

"I'm going to get fleas," Piper muttered and shuddered as she looked at the ugly brown shag carpet and cream walls. "I can't believe you actually paid money for this shithole."

"Well, there's always an alternative," he stated.

"And what is that?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"We could move in together," he suggested.

Piper turned back around and said, "You know, if you squint both eyes and bite your tongue, it doesn't look half bad."

"Piper…"

"Stop being such a girl, Troy."

"What the hell is so bad about living together?"

"Right now, my dad assumes we don't have sex," she said, turning back around to look at him. "If we move in together he'll know we're having sex and you don't want that." Troy gulped. "Exactly, besides, you're already clingy, if we moved in together I wouldn't be able to pee without you wanting to watch."

"Piper, there are many things I like to watch you do without pants on. In fact, I could probably think of fifty off the top of my head. But peeing has never, and _will_ never be one of those things."

"Well, fine then," she shrugged. "But just so you know, I'm at my prettiest when I'm going to the bathroom, with my face scrun-"

"My parents are going to give Chad and I some furniture," Troy said, cutting her off. "Chad and I fly home to Albuquerque Monday morning and we'll be there for a couple days then we'll be heading back with a moving truck of stuff."

"Monday morning? So that means we only have two more nights with the air mattress?" She asked. He nodded. "Well then, we should pay our respects to it." She smiled. "I hope you ate enough at lunch because you're not leaving your bedroom until tomorrow morning."

Instead of answering, Troy picked her up and carried her into his room. He set her feet on the ground then they both laid down on the air mattress with him onto of her, their mouths attached.

A few blocks away, Chad and Greer were in the same position on her bed. As his lips left hers and kissed down her neck to her bare shoulder, she struggled to get her head into what was happening, but she couldn't Piper's words out of her head. Had Chad already asked her dad if he could marry her? Was he planning on proposing to her soon?

"Greer?" She blinked and saw him studying her face in concern. "You ok?"

"Uh, yeah," she nodded, pushing her hair out of her face.

"You sure?"

"Uh yeah," she smiled. "Just lost in my thoughts, sorry."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No." She bit her lip. "Well actually, yes." She took a deep breath. "You didn't ask my dad if you could marry me, did you?"

"No," he replied, slowly. "Why did somebody say I did?"

"No, it was just something Piper said to me at graduation," she said. "She said we'd be engaged by November and expecting a baby by next November."

"Oh." Chad sucked in a deep breath as he sat up.

"Chad, that's not what I want," she added quickly. "At least not yet, I mean, when the time is right, yeah, I want to marry you. Well at least I think I do, but I'm not looking for anything like that right now."

"Are you sure?" He asked, turning to look at her. "I mean you're out of college now, isn't that part of the next phase of life?"

"Phases of life come when you're ready, Chad," she said, sitting up. "I want to focus on my career for awhile and I want you to finish college before you make any big decisions about life."

"Sounds good to me," he smiled. "So you can see us engaged or married in three or four years."

"I don't know," she blushed. "Maybe."

"Well keep me up-to-date on the answer," he smiled.

"Only if you promise to not go ask my dad before we've had a chance to talk about the future in the future," she stated.

"Scouts honor," he said.

Greer smiled and pushed him backwards on her bed then climbed on top of him. She pressed her lips against his and kissed him hard. With Piper's teasingly-meant comments out of her head, Greer was ready to take advantage of her boyfriend's sexy body and show him what her new-found flexibility could do for him.

Early the next afternoon, Chad opened the car door for Greer in front of her parents' house. Hand-in-hand they walked up the driveway and into her parents' house where they were put to work in last minute preparation for the party. They were pouring ice into a cooler when Troy and Piper showed up, both with dark circles under the eyes, but wide smiles on their faces.

"Did you guys sleep at all?" Chad asked Troy after the girls were called over by their parents.

"About three hours," Troy replied. "Oh and I owe you a new copy of that sex position book you had."

"I don't even want to know," Chad shook his head.

"Piper's going to join that yoga class with Greer," Troy added.

"I said I didn't want to know," Chad groaned. "Though, it yoga does help."

"You two better not be talking about what I think you're talking about," Braeden said, coming up behind them and grabbed them both by the back of the neck. "Cause if I overhear you guys talking about sex and my sisters in the same sentence, I'm gonna have to kill you guys."

"Except there's two of us and only one of you," Troy stated as he and Chad turned around to face Braeden. "You can't kill us both."

"Then I'll go for the one that repeatedly violated my sister behind my back," Braeden vowed. "But anyway, hey, who's that talking to my parents? Wait, aren't those your parents?"

Troy and Chad spun around and saw their parents standing on the Scott's back patio talking with Coach and Mrs. Scott.

"What are they doing here?" Chad asked.

"I invited them," Braeden smirked. "You're welcome, douchbags." He shoved them each in a shoulder and practically skipping off.

"What are your parents doing here?" Piper hissed to Troy when he and Chad reached the deck.

"Braeden invited them," Troy forced a smile on his face when his dad turned and saw him standing there.

He and Chad greeted their parents and each others parents then mentally started planning all the ways that they were going to kill Braeden as the party went on. They met old high school friends, family members, professors from the U of A that they hadn't met yet and a bunch of other miscellaneous people, whose names they were sure to forget.

When the party ended, Troy and Chad went to their apartment to pack the bags that they were going to take on their short trip home then went to bed on their air mattresses for the last time.

The next morning, Greer and a very grumpy Piper picked them up and drove them to the airport.

"I'll see you in a couple days," Chad smiled as he kissed Greer's lips.

"Stay away from Taylor," Greer instructed. "We don't need another repeat of your baseball game at Stanford where she tried to get you drunk. Which reminds me, I need to send Gabriella another thank you card."

"Taylor won't be out of school for another month, I made sure of it," Chad stated. "And by then I'll be playing baseball right here in town."

"Good," she smiled, leaning in for another kiss.

"You gonna be ok without me for a few days, pampers?" Piper asked Troy where they stood a few feet away from their best friends.

"I'll be fine, depends," he replied.

"Depends on what?"

"Depends, you know like the adult diapers," he smirked. "I figure, if you call me pampers because I'm younger than you, I might as well refer to you as depends because you're older than me."

"Why you little," she sucked in a deep breath as Chad yelled to Troy that it was time to go through security. "You better carbo-load while you're gone and get used to the dark, because the blindfold from Valentine's Day is coming back."

"You're such a tease," Troy smirked then kissed her lips. "I'll call you when I get to my parents house."

Seventy-two hours later, Chad and Troy found themselves driving the six and half hours from their hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico to their new home in Tucson, Arizona in a rented U-HAUL loaded with the rest of their belongings and furniture their parents no longer needed or had found at garage sales.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Chad groaned as he tossed his Sports Illustrated magazine on the ground, the sun wasn't up yet so it was useless to even attempt to read.

"Sadly no," Troy replied as he glanced at his friend as they drove across the New Mexico / Arizona border. "Besides, we have like two hours left."

"I can't wait to be home," Chad muttered as he dug into the cooler at his feet and pulled out a fruit punch Gatorade for Troy and a fierce Gatorade for himself. "I miss Greer like nobody's business."

Chad sighed as he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He had gone back and forth since Spring Break about where he was going to live during the summer, mostly because his mom was due in the beginning of August. But after he had been offered a spot on a college summer league baseball team in Tucson, he had decided to stay. It had been hard to fly home and pack up his entire life and load them into the U-HAUL.

His mom had cried, he had cried, it had been a regular tearfest at his house last night since his mom knew that he and Troy would be leaving around three in the morning. She had insisted on getting up and making him breakfast for before he left then another breakfast for the road and nothing he said or did could stop her from doing that, which meant there had been another tearfest when Troy showed up with the U-HAUL at 2:45 and he, too, became part of the tearfest, with Chad's mom taking her adopted son into her arms and hugging him until Chad reminded her that they had to get on the road.

His mom had then tried to convince them to sleep for another couple hours and leave around five, just like she and Troy's mom had been trying to convince them to do since they got home. But Troy and Chad had stuck to their plan of leaving early in the morning, just like the coaches told them to, so they could beat the heat; not to mention, get back to their girlfriends sooner—girlfriends who had promised to be there when they got home.

It may have all started as a joke. But neither of them could picture themselves as anything but University of Arizona Wildcats.


	32. Deleted Scene 1

Pretty sure this is the only deleted scene we'll actually have, but Cate and I wrote this when we were in the planning stages of our story. I'm not sure how it even came about, it just happened one night when we were chatting about the story and we just went off on this little bit of dialogue between Troy and Gabriella. We wanted to put it in the actual story but we could never find the right place for it, so it was designated to be a deleted scene.

So here's the setup: Gabriella has just found out that Troy is going to go to university with Chad instead of her like she had planned and they're in a public place, but we're not sure where.

**Deleted Scene #1**

"You're choosing Chad over me?!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"He's my best friend, Gab," Troy defended himself. "Besides, it's been the plan since we were kids."

"Yeah, well just remember your decision when you want somebody to suck your dick!" Gabriella shouted.

"You weren't good at it anyway! You're not supposed to use your teeth that much," Troy retorted.

Gabriella's face turned red and she glared at him. "Yeah, well, cut your nails every now and again, Troy," she spat.

"Trim your bush," Troy shrugged.

"Shave your balls," Gabriella stated.

"Oh my god, get a room already!" Somebody yelled.

"I wouldn't give him the pleasure," Gabriella snapped.

Troy opened his mouth to say something but started to laugh instead.

"What the hell is so funny?" Gabriella demanded. "I'm mad at you!"

"Gabriella, what the hell are we doing?" Troy asked. "I mean look at us, I told you I'm going to go to school with Chad and we're throwing sexual insults back and forth."

Gabriella stiffened and tried to hold back a giggle, but failed. "Okay, so maybe I got a little carried away," she said and Troy raised his eyebrow. "Okay, a lot carried away."


End file.
